KHALISTAN EXTREMISM MONITOR
A project of the Institute for Conflict Management
A project of the Institute for Conflict Management
The Covid-19 lockdown has dealt a major blow to drug smuggling in Punjab and more than 26,000 people have registered at de-addiction centres since curfew was imposed in the state to prevent the spread of the Coronavirus, officials have said.
Additional director general of police Harpreet Singh Sidhu, who heads the anti-narcotics Special Task Force (STF), told Hindustan Times the surge in registrations at out-patient opioid assisted treatment (OOAT) centres across Punjab was because the supply chain of drug trafficking rings has been disrupted by the strict lockdown.
“The supply chain crunch has already been there and that is why we had over four lakh registrations at OOAT centres across Punjab since 2017. Lockdown has helped us further tighten the grip,” he added.
A total of 309 cases were registered by Punjab Police under the Narcotics, Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act and a large quantity of drugs have been seized, including 22 kg of heroin and more than 527 kg of poppy husk, since March 23, when the curfew was imposed.