Account of criminals will be done in the year 2025…13 dangerous criminals killed, 916 arrested: Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann

Chandigarh: Taking decisive steps against narcotics and organized crime networks in Punjab, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann today said the state is moving towards a decisive victory. In the last three and a half years, 85,418 drug smugglers have been arrested, NDPS. The conviction rate under the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act has been 88 percent and 916 gangsters have been arrested since January 1, 2025.

Reviewing the performance of the police department, the Chief Minister said that strict enforcement, thorough investigation and zero political interference are yielding results at the ground level. This marks a clear shift from rhetoric to concrete action in Punjab’s long battle against the drug menace.

The campaign was largely successful in controlling drugs

During the meeting here today, the Chief Minister said that since his government came to power, 63,053 cases have been registered against drug smugglers. Bhagwant Singh Mann said that since the start of the ‘War Against Drugs’ campaign in the year 2025, the police has filed 30,144 FIRs. Have registered and arrested 40,302 smugglers. He said that this unique campaign of its kind was started on March 1, 2025, which has been successful to a great extent in controlling drugs.

The Chief Minister said that to deal with drugs, a multi-dimensional strategy was prepared based on the three principles of enforcement, de-addiction and prevention, the results of which have been very encouraging. Under this campaign, major action was taken against drug suppliers and the smuggling network was destroyed. He said that in the last three and a half years, 5,119.94 kg heroin, 3,458.53 kg opium, 5.82 kg cocaine, 82.04 kg ice, 4.98 crore capsules and drug money worth Rs 52.46 crore have been recovered.

The Chief Minister said that the state has given top priority to the fight against drugs from the year 2022. Under this, a comprehensive, sustained and result-oriented approach has been adopted, which includes enforcement, financial constraints, technology-based policing, ensuring punishment, public participation and rehabilitation. He said that the Anti-Narcotics Task Force (ANTF) of Punjab Police has been at the forefront in implementing this strategy, which has had a positive impact on all key indicators.

Drug smugglers’ backs broken

Bhagwant Singh Mann said enforcement efforts have now moved beyond just small seizures to targeted action against commercial quantity cases, habitual offenders and organized trafficking networks, thereby breaking the chain of drug supply at high levels.

The Chief Minister said that important results have emerged through the financial investigation. More than 1,400 cases have been registered for confiscation of illegally acquired properties. Assets worth more than Rs 2,730 crore have been seized during the year 2022 to 2025. He said that this has sent a clear message that earning money from drug crime will not be allowed in Punjab.

The Chief Minister said that the quality of investigation and effective legal advocacy has resulted in the acquittal of more than 25,000 NDPS cases by the courts. The cases were disposed of, resulting in more than 21,600 convictions. The overall conviction rate was about 84 percent, which is continuously improving and in the year 2025 this rate will reach about 88 percent. This reflects strong case preparation, forensic cooperation and effective prosecution. He said that P.A.I.S. Technical capabilities have been significantly strengthened through technology based analysis, technical cells, digital forensics and intelligence sharing.

14,000 arrests were made

The Chief Minister said that ‘Safe Punjab WhatsApp Chatbot’ has emerged as a major citizen-participation initiative, through which around 30,000 actionable notifications were received, more than 11,000 FIRs were filed. were registered and approximately 14,000 arrests were made. Its conviction rate was about 38 percent, which reflects public confidence and effective response mechanism. He said that the State Government has significantly enhanced its capabilities to combat drone-based drug trafficking, resulting in the recovery of hundreds of drones in recent years and major success in curbing drone activities in the year 2025.

Referring to the action against gangsters, Bhagwant Singh Mann said that from January 1 to December 17, Punjab Police arrested 916 gangsters, killed 13 in encounters, busted 389 modules and recovered 594 weapons.