Union Home Minister Amit Shah is set to chair a regional conference on "Drugs Smuggling and National Security" on Monday (July 17). Over 1.44 lakh kilogrammes of drugs with an estimated value of Rs 2,416 crore will be destroyed across the country as part of the event. The narcotics destruction process will be carried out in various cities, with Amit Shah virtually supervising the operation from New Delhi via video conferencing, an official statement said.
The drugs to be destroyed include 6,590 kg seized by the Narcotics Control Bureau's (NCB) Hyderabad unit, 822 kg seized by the Indore unit and 356 kg seized by the Jammu unit, said the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in a statement.
Along with this, various state law enforcement agencies will destroy drugs totaling 1,486 kg in Assam, 229 kg in Chandigarh, 25 kg in Goa, 4,277 kg in Gujarat, 2,458 kg in Haryana, 4,069 kg in Jammu and Kashmir, 1,03,884 kg in Madhya Pradesh, 159 kg in Maharashtra, 1,803 kg in Tripura, and 4,049 kg in Uttar Pradesh, it said.
The central government has adopted a zero-tolerance policy against narcotics under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership in order to create a drug-free India, according to the statement.
From June 1, 2022 to July 15, 2023, all regional units of the NCB and state anti-narcotics task forces destroyed approximately 8,76,554 kg of seized drugs valued at approximately Rs 9,580 crore — more than 11 times the target.
With the drug destruction on Monday, the total amount of drugs destroyed in a single year will be around 10 lakh kilogrammes. The total value of these drugs is around Rs 12,000 crore. The official release stated that in order to realise the dream of a drug-free India, this campaign of drug destruction will continue actively and with the same zeal.
"In order to realize Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s dream of a Drugs-free India, this campaign of destruction of drugs will continue actively, with the same zeal," added the MHA.