In a major crackdown on the menace of drugs in the national capital, the Crime Branch of the Delhi Police on Friday conducted widespread raids, swooping down on over 100 locations across Delhi on Monday. Earlier, raids conducted during the intervening night of May 12 and 13 had led to the arrest of 31 drug offenders in 30 cases under the Narcotic-Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985.

As many as 12 bootleggers were also arrested in six cases of the Excise Act. The operation also saw the seizure of 957.5 grams of heroin, 57.8 kilograms of marijuana and 782 bottles of illicit liquor.

What is Operation Kawach?

Aimed at identifying and apprehending people involved in the trafficking and distribution of narcotics, ‘Operation Kawach’ is a joint initiative launched by the Crime Branch in coordination with all district units of the Delhi Police. The initiative aims to combat the harmful influence of drug addiction on youth and children and underscores the authorities’ commitment to safeguarding the well-being of young individuals and curbing the distribution of illicit substances in educational settings.

For the raids in May, as many as 80 police teams consisting of anti-narcotics task force (ANTF), crime branch and the police stations of all the districts under the leadership of the Commissioner of Police (CP), were constituted to carry out the operations, Ravindra Singh Yadav, Special Commissioner of Police (Crime), said.

In a process that saw officials collecting information through human intel as well as technical analysis, the ANTF, in coordination with district units, conducted ground-level surveys and chose over 100 potential targets for simultaneous raids. A total of 31 drug offenders and 12 bootleggers were apprehended by the police during the operation.

“Operation Kawach is primarily intended to save the youth from the menace of drugs. Although the focus is to take stringent action on the supply side, it is also appealed to society to create awareness and reduce the demand of drugs. The parents, teachers and the social reformers are specially requested to sensitise the youth about the grave consequences of drug addiction,” the SPecial CP said.

Operation Kawach: The story so far

According to the official, the joint operations, which utilised a variety of resources such as undercover officers, surveillance, canine support and intelligence gathering, targetted both street-level dealers and high-level traffickers and have both ‘top-to-bottom’ and ‘bottom-to-top’ approaches to effectively counter drug trafficking in the national capital.

In this year, Delhi Police has arrested 534 narco-offenders in 412 NDPS cases. Around 35 kg of heroin/smack, 15 kg of cocaine, 1,500 kg of ganja, 230 kg of opium, 10 kg of charas and 20 kg of poppy have been recovered during these operations.