Mumbai: Drugs worth Rs 4,131 crore seized in 5 months

Mumbai: Anti-narcotics squads in Maharashtra seized drugs worth Rs 4,131 crore in the five months of 2024, which is 360 per cent more than the value of banned drugs seized in the previous calendar year, government data shows. Deputy Chief Minister Fadnavis said in the state Legislative Council on Thursday that the government has also found the involvement of some police officers in the drug trade and they have been dismissed from service. He was responding to a question raised by Congress MLA Ashok alias Bhai Jagtap.

“In the calendar year 2023, anti-narcotics squads conducted 12,648 operations and seized banned substances worth Rs 897 crore. However, till May this year, the teams conducted 6,529 operations in the state and seized banned substances worth Rs 4,131 crore,” Fadnavis said. He said these teams were formed after the Centre requested all state governments to develop a joint action plan, coordinating the efforts of various departments to check the production and trade of banned substances. “The state government has also found the involvement of some police officers in such malpractices, and they have been dismissed from service,” the deputy chief minister said.