The Punjab Police on Monday carried out a special operation ‘OPS Seal-VIII’ aimed at checking all vehicles entering or exiting the state to keep a tab on drug trafficking and liquor smuggling in the wake of upcoming assembly elections in Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir.
During the operation, the police managed to recover over 71kg of narcotics, a sizeable number of intoxicating tablets and a substantial amount of illicit liquor. The cops also made a few arrests and fined several vehicles.
Special DGP Arpit Shukla said all the senior superintendents of police (SSPs) of the border districts were asked to ensure checking from 6am to 2pm, and well-coordinated nakas, involving over 1,000 police personnel were set up under the supervision of inspectors and DSPs.
The operation, carried out on the directions of director general of police (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav, was conducted at 92 entry and exit points of 10 districts, which share boundaries with four states and Union Territory of Chandigarh.
The ten inter-state border districts include Pathankot, Muktsar, Fazilka, Ropar, SAS Nagar, Patiala, Sangrur, Mansa, Hoshiarpur and Bathinda.
“The police teams recovered 1.1kg opium, 29kg poppy husk, 42kg intoxicant powder, 1,070 intoxicating tablets and a significant amount of illicit liquor,” special DGP Shukla said.
He said that during the operation, a thorough search of suspected vehicles and persons was conducted. “As many as 4,245 vehicles were checked, of which 293 were fined and 16 impounded. Also, 26 FIRs were registered and 27 persons arrested.”
The police teams also verified registration numbers of the searched vehicles using the VAHAN mobile app, he added.
The special DGP said: “We had strictly instructed the police personnel to deal with every commuter in a friendly and polite manner while checking their vehicles.”
