Chandigarh, Jul 17 (PTI) The Punjab Police on Monday said it has arrested more than 16,000 smugglers and registered about 12,000 FIRs in drugs related cases in the last one year. A total of 16,360 drug smugglers, including 2,351 big ones, have been arrested since July 5 last year, Inspector General of Police (Headquarters) Sukhchain Singh Gill said here.

Besides, 12,218 FIRs have been registered during the period, he said.

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Police teams recovered 1,073.44 kg heroin from across the state after carrying out cordon and search operations in drug-affected areas, besides laying checkpoints at vulnerable routes across the state.

Additionally, 147.5 kg of heroin was recovered by the teams of Punjab Police from seaports of Gujarat and Maharashtra, taking the total effective recovery of heroin to 1,220.94 kg in just one year, Gill said.

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The IGP further said that police have also recovered 797.14 kg opium, 902.13 kg ganja, 375.47 quintals of poppy husk, and 65.49 lakh tablets, capsules, injections, and vials of pharma opioids from across the state.

Police also recovered Rs 12.33 crore cash from the possession of drug smugglers and forfeited properties worth Rs 26.72 crore of 66 big smugglers during the last one year, Gill said.

Barnala remained on top by freezing 13 properties worth Rs 2.34 crore, followed by nine properties worth Rs 1.72 crore forfeited by district Fazilka and six properties worth Rs 1.13 crore by district Malerkotla, he said. Apart from this, Gill said police also busted 18 terror modules with the arrest of 143 terrorists and radicals after recovering 31 rifles, 209 revolvers and pistols, five tiffin improvised explosive devices (IEDs), 6.78 kg RDX and other explosives, 10 hand grenades, one sleeve of disposed rocket launcher, 51 drones, and one loaded rocket propelled grenade. Similarly, the Anti-Gangster Task Force (AGTF) succeeded in busting 208 gangster and criminal modules after arresting 688 gangsters and criminals and neutralising five, after recovering 667 weapons, 157 vehicles used in criminal activities.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)