Operation Kavach in Delhi: 64 drug hotspots identified, 907 locations raided

New Delhi: Delhi Police has identified 64 hotspot locations where narcotics are reportedly being sold and conducted raids at 907 places during the 24-hour long 'Operation Kawach', an official said on Thursday.

According to the police, they have arrested more than 700 people out of 1,240 who were detained.

'Operation Kawach' is an initiative which the Delhi Police takes from time to time to take action against the criminals and drug traffickers in the national capital.

All the units of the Delhi Police, including Crime Branch, Special Cell and the police of 15 districts launched a 24-hour operation, which started from November 12 to 13, Special Commissioner of Police (crime branch) Devesh Chandra Srivastava said.

"All the units detained 1,224 people under the operation conducted at 907 locations. We have arrested more than 700 people during the entire operation," he said.

He said that during the operation, the teams have identified 64 hotspot locations where narcotics are being sold in the national capital. The teams will keep 24 hours vigil on these hotspots.

"To eradicate the drug menace from society, all concerned have been directed to take strong effective action against the narco-offenders. The Delhi Police till October 31 have arrested 1,268 narco-offenders in 886 NDPS cases and recovered about 71.1 kilograms of heroin/smack, 1,293 kilograms of cocaine, 3,241 kilograms of ganja, 103 kilograms of opium, 50.5 kilograms of charas, 80.5 kilograms of poppy heads," he added.

He said that 'Operation Kawach' was started all over Delhi in the month of May 2023 to focus on identifying and apprehending individuals involved in the trafficking and distribution of narcotics.

The officer further said that strict action against the drug traffickers, gun-runners and surprise raids resulted in significant drop in supply of drugs.

According to the inputs, most of the big drug traffickers have become underground. Major players are avoiding bringing commercial quantity in Delhi.

He said that during the entire operation the police teams have seized a substantial quantity of drugs. Approximately 870.1 grams of heroin, 244.8 kilograms of ganja, 16.1 grams of cocaine and 434 grams of MDMA were seized. Rs 34,420 cash, one gold chain of 20 grams, one motor cycle, one scooter and one tempo was also seized. 14 people were arrested in 14 Arms Act cases with the recovery of six country made pistols, nine live cartridge, eight knives and 15 stolen motorcycles.

The police said that under the operation illegal pan shops situated in the areas of eastern range comprising GTB Enclave, Mayur Vihar Phase-1 and Karkardooma, within the 100 metres radius were also raided and total 44 people have also been prosecuted under the COTPA Act.

Sharing details, the officer said that there were eight different major operations conducted by the teams and the accused were arrested.

"Some of the accused are serial offenders and some of the accused were caught red-handed when they were going to deliver drugs. During these operations, the police also nabbed a Nigerian national who was involved in drug supplying," said the officer, adding that the entire operation was closely supervised and coordinated by Additional Commissioner of Police Sanjay Bhatia and Deputy Commissioner of Police Bhisham Singh.