‘Licensed arms used to commit 60% crimes’

Amid the ongoing crackdown on drug dealers and peddlers in Punjab, Director General of Punjab Police Gaurav Yadav on Tuesday said “licensed arms have been found to be used in about 60 per cent of the state’s crimes.”
The remark came on a day the Pnjab Police said it had recovered 12 grams of heroin during search operations at the Ghoda colony in the Ludhiana district. The search operation was led by DGP Yadav and also involved high-ranking police officers from different cities of the state.
“In today’s search operation, the police recovered 12 grams of heroin in two separate search operations,” DGP Yadav told mediapersons, adding action will also be taken to prevent the making of songs that encourage taking up arms.
In a bid to make Punjab a drug-free state, extensive anti-drug drives have been launched by the Punjab Police to combat the menace in the border State, officials said.
The DGP said he has also directed all commissioners and special comissioners of police to identify the hotspots where the peddling and use of drugs are rampant. All police stations have been instructed to zero in on the drug dealers and pedlers in their respective jurisdictions.
He has also directed the top police bosses to effectively attach the properties of the arrested drug smugglers in a bid to recover their ill-gotten money.
On Tuesday, Punjab Police informed that they have arrested 513 drug smugglers across the state over the last two weeks.
Around 406 first information reports (FIRs) were registered under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, the state police said.
“Police recovered 42.36 Kg heroin, 18Kg opium, 12 Kg ganja, 9 quintals of poppy husk and 74k tablets/capsules/injections/vials of pharma opioids during raids. Rs 14.80 lakh in drug money were also recovered from the possession of the suspected peddlers,” Inspector General of Police (IG) Headquarters, Sukhchain Singh Gill, said at a press briefing on Tuesday.