Gujarat saw drug seizures worth Rs 5300cr in 18 months, 102 arrests

Drugs worth more than Rs 5,300 crore were seized and 102 people involved in illicit narcotics trade apprehended by the Gujarat police in the last one-and-a-half years, the state legislative assembly was informed on Tuesday.

The information was shared by Gujarat Minister of State for Home Harsh Sanghavi in the House during a discussion under the rule 116 of the assembly, which deals with "matters of urgent public importance".

"From August 2021 till February 2023, the Gujarat police seized nearly 1,000 kg of drugs worth over Rs 5,300 crore and nabbed 102 accused persons, including 56 foreign nationals," he said during the discussion on action taken by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government to stop the dumping of narcotics substances such as heroin in the border state through the sea route in recent times.

Of the 56 foreigners held since August 2021 for their involvement in illegal drugs trade, 44 belonged to Pakistan, seven were from Iran, three were Afghanistan citizens and two Nigerians, said the minister.

The issue was raised in the House by senior Gujarat Congress MLAs Amit Chavda and Arjun Modhwadia and Pravinkumar Mali and Uday Kangad (both BJP).

Praising the Gujarat police for their drive against trafficking of narcotics substances, Sanghavi claimed some Congress-ruled states had sent their delegations to understand how the western state's police managed to effectively curb the drug menace.

Referring to the drugs seized in the past from the Mundra Port managed by the Adani group, Chavda demanded that the BJP government also investigate the roles of those who "provide a platform" for the smuggling of drugs.

Congress MLA Modhwadia claimed that thanks to the steps taken by the Punjab government in the past, it is now difficult to smuggle narcotics into the northern  state which also borders Pakistan.

He claimed most of the drugs seizures in Gujarat were carried out by central agencies and not the state police.

"As a result (of steps taken by Punjab government), Gujarat has become an entry gate for drugs for the last six to seven years. According to the Narcotics Control Bureau, only 10 per cent of drugs were caught, while 90 per cent made their way into the country.

"Since the Gujarat police does not have a network of informers, most of the seizures were made by central agencies in Gujarat,'' Modhwadia said, inviting strong reaction from the BJP minister.

Taking strong exception to the Congress leader's claims, Sanghavi asked the Opposition to stop "defaming" Gujarat by comparing it with Punjab (where Congress was in power from 2017 to early 2022) in terms of illicit drugs trade.

"Why are you defaming Gujarat for the sake of politics? You are comparing Gujarat's youth with Punjab? The entire world knows Punjab is the drug capital of this country.

"It was the Gujarat police which had busted a drug network being run from Punjab jails. The Congress always speaks about Adani Ports (an Adani group firm). But they forget our police had caught drugs from the Kolkata port too," he said.

Refuting Modhwadia's claim that most of the drugs seizures were made by central agencies, Sanghavi said the Gujarat police works closely with them.

A majority of narcotics seizures were made possible because of accurate tip-offs provided by the Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) to central agencies, said the minister.