SRINAGAR: Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Sunday said more than 1,130 drug smugglers have been arrested across Jammu and Kashmir during the ongoing anti-narcotics campaign, while announcing stricter measures, including the cancellation of passports, driving licences, arms licences and Aadhaar-linked benefits of those involved in drug trafficking.
Addressing the ‘Drug-Free JK’ campaign and padyatra in Poonch, the Lieutenant Governor said the administration has intensified its fight against drug abuse and narco-terrorism, with law enforcement agencies being given a free hand to dismantle the entire narcotics network operating in the Union Territory.
He said that during the past 57 days, authorities have registered 1,038 FIRs, arrested over 1,130 drug smugglers, detained 63 individuals under the PIT-NDPS Act and attached more than 100 properties linked to drug trafficking. In addition, around 700 driving licences have been cancelled and proceedings initiated to revoke 130 passports.
The Lieutenant Governor said the campaign has now covered all 20 districts of Jammu and Kashmir and will continue for the next 43 days with the objective of making every panchayat, ward and household drug-free.
Describing Poonch as a sensitive border district, he warned that cross-border drug smuggling was not only destroying young lives but also financing terrorism. He said narco-terror networks were attempting to exploit the region’s geography and called for a united societal response to counter the threat.
Sinha said the administration’s strategy is focused on both enforcement and prevention, with youth clubs being mobilised as the frontline defence against drug networks and women being encouraged to take leadership roles in anti-drug campaigns at the village level.
He emphasised that education, skill development and sports would play a key role in steering young people away from substance abuse and creating long-term resistance to the drug menace.
The Lieutenant Governor also announced that under a newly issued Standard Operating Procedure (SOP), individuals found involved in drug smuggling would face immediate punitive action, including the attachment of movable and immovable assets under the NDPS Act.
Calling for public participation, he urged citizens to reject indifference and actively support efforts to expose drug smugglers and peddlers, asserting that a drug-free Jammu and Kashmir could only be achieved through collective action.
“The road ahead is long, but we will not stop until every narco-terror network is dismantled,” he said.
