DGP warns Pakistan-backed narco networks, says J&K intensifying crackdown under ‘Nasha Mukt Abhiyan’

Srinagar, May 14 (UNI) J&K’s Director General of Police Nalin Prabhat on Thursday said that 806 persons have been arrested and 724 NDPS cases have been registered since the launch of “Nasha Mukt Jammu and Kashmir (Drug-free Jammu and Kashmir) campaign last month.
Addressing the media in Srinagar, the DGP said the “Nasha Mukt Abhiyan,” launched on April 11 by J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, has led to a sharp rise in action against drug networks, with a nearly seven-fold increase in NDPS cases compared to the corresponding period last year.
Giving details of the anti-narcotics operations, Prabhat said 724 FIRs have been registered and 806 persons arrested during the campaign so far. He said among the major arrests were Gulzar Ahmed alias Lau Gujar, wanted in 28 cases, who was recently arrested by Jammu Police, and Avneet Singh alias Nagi, wanted in 17 cases in Jammu province.
The DGP said 667 kilograms of narcotics and around 19,000 psychotropic units were seized during the campaign, while preventive action was taken against 24 habitual drug offenders.
The DGP chief said J&K Police has shown “consistent performance since 2023” in all anti-narcotics parameters and recorded a 12-fold increase in attachment of properties linked to drug trafficking between 2023 and 2026.
“J&K Police was ranked number three nationally in property attachments during 2025, while in PIT-NDPS detentions, the force ranked number one in the country with 240 detentions,” he said.
Prabhat said properties worth Rs 41.85 crore linked to narcotics trade have been identified and attached during the current campaign. He said Anantnag Police attached properties worth Rs 6.17 crore in a single case, the largest such attachment so far.
“In a first-of-its-kind action, J&K Police attached properties beyond the union Territory, including one each in Gurdaspur, Pathankot and Chandigarh,” he said, adding that Kulgam Police also attached properties worth Rs 93 lakh in Belicharana area of Jammu while tracing backward linkages.
The DGP further said 41 properties worth nearly Rs 15 crore, allegedly raised through proceeds of narcotics trade, have been demolished after following due legal procedure.
He said illicit poppy and cannabis cultivation spread over 117 kanals of land was destroyed during the drive. On the awareness front, Prabhat said 2,401 awareness and sensitisation programmes were conducted in schools, colleges and public places, covering over three lakh participants, particularly in identified hotspots.
He added that a focused inspection drive was also carried out against pharmaceutical establishments, during which 5,238 chemist and druggist shops were checked and action initiated against 151 violators.
According to the DGP, 4,962 kilograms of narcotics and 6,493 psychotropic units were disposed of during the campaign. Besides, driving licences of 162 persons involved in narcotics cases were cancelled or suspended, while registration certificates of 92 vehicles were also cancelled or suspended. Recommendations have also been made for impounding 10 passports, he said.
Issuing a stern warning to Pakistan-based narcotics handler Shehzad Bhatti, whom he described as an “ISI acolyte and partner,” Prabhat said, “We will hunt and hound you and your associates and decimate your evil infrastructure.”