Gujarat Police, in the last five years, has intercepted narcotic substances valued at more than Rs 13,600 crore, preventing their distribution in Gujarat and other parts of India. Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi announced this achievement on the occasion of the ‘International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking’. The police have filed over 3,700 cases related to anti-narcotics laws during this period and apprehended 5,346 individuals involved in illegal drug activities.
Sanghavi emphasized that due to continuous law enforcement efforts, traffickers are now hesitant to use Gujarat as a transit point for smuggling drugs to other regions. The successful seizures have deterred drug traffickers from targeting young people in Gujarat and across the nation. Official records indicate the confiscation of more than 1.36 lakh kilograms of narcotic substances during the specified timeframe.
Moreover, the number of registered narcotics cases has surged from 315 in 2020 to 584 in the initial five months of 2026. This increase is attributed to enhanced enforcement and surveillance measures rather than a confirmed escalation in drug-related incidents. Sanghavi outlined various initiatives introduced by the state government to bolster anti-drug enforcement, including the implementation of a ‘Drug Reward Policy’ offering financial incentives to police personnel and informants whose intelligence leads to the exposure of drug trafficking networks.
Additionally, the state has introduced policies such as ‘out-of-turn promotion’ for police officers involved in dismantling international drug syndicates. Notably, Gujarat has established a specialized Anti-Narcotics Task Force, empowered local police stations to investigate cases under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, and deployed an Artificial Intelligence-based analytical platform named ‘NARIT’ to aid investigators in identifying criminal networks through financial, digital, and communication data. Plans are underway to set up anti-narcotics cells in various districts, alongside expanding de-addiction and counseling services in conjunction with enforcement actions.
The International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, observed annually on June 26, was established by the United Nations General Assembly to encourage global collaboration in preventing drug abuse and combating illicit drug trafficking.
