Anti-Gangster Task Force (AGTF) has succeeded in busting 249 gangster/criminal modules after arresting 800 gangsters/criminals.
Published Oct 09, 2023 | 8:58 PM ⚊ Updated Oct 09, 2023 | 8:58 PM
IGP Sukhchain Singh Gill during press meet. (Supplied)
As part of its anti-terror crackdown, Punjab Police have busted 31 terror modules with the arrest of 197 terrorists/radicals in the last 18 months.
The police, during the crackdown, recovered 32 rifles, 222 revolvers and pistols, nine tiffin Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), 10.86 kg RDX and other explosives, 11 hand grenades, two sleeves of disposed rocket launcher, 73 drones, and one loaded Rocket Propelled Grenade (RPG) from their possession.
Meanwhile, the Anti-Gangster Task Force (AGTF) succeeded in busting 249 gangster/criminal modules after arresting 800 gangsters/criminals and neutralising six with the recovery of 839 weapons along with 171 vehicles used in criminal activities.
Inspector General of Police (IGP) Headquarters Sukhchain Singh Gill, while elaborating on the police’s law and order restoration initiatives since the establishment of the Bhagwant Mann-led AAP government, said that they were running dedicated crackdowns against terror activities, gangster networks and drug cartels in state.
The police have in the last 15 months arrested 20979 drug smugglers including 3003 big smugglers.
So far a total of 15434 FIRs have been registered across the state out of which 1864 are related to commercial quantity.
Gill, elaborating on details, said that the police teams recovered 1510.5 kg of heroin from across the state after carrying out cordon and search operations in drug-affected areas, besides laying nakas at vulnerable routes across the state.
He added, “Additionally, 147.5 kg heroin was recovered by the teams of Punjab Police from seaports of Gujarat and Maharashtra, taking the total effective recovery of heroin to 1658 kg in just 15 months.”
He also said: “Apart from seizing a big haul of heroin, the police also recovered 924 kg opium, 986 kg Ganja, 471 quintals of poppy husk, and 92 lakh tablets/capsules/injections/vials of pharma opioids from across the state. The police have also recovered ₹15.81 crore of drug money from the possession of drug smugglers so far.”
He added that the Punjab Police also seized properties of 111 big smugglers worth ₹88.3 crore during this period, wherein the Jalandhar Rural police seized properties worth ₹40.3 crore, Tarn Taran ₹12.06 crore, and Ferozepur ₹6.16 crore.
“With 13 more NDPS cases arrested in the last week, the total number of arrests has reached 1111 since the special drive to arrest POs/absconders was started in July 2022,” said Gill.
