Karnataka sets up Anti-Narcotic Task Force to tackle drug related crimes in state

Karnataka government has formed an Anti-Narcotic Task Force (ANTF) to combat drug-related crimes. The unit will operate under the Police Department.

In a significant move to intensify its crackdown on drug-related crimes, the Karnataka government has established a dedicated Anti-Narcotic Task Force (ANTF). The new unit is designed to function as a specialised, state-level body focused on identifying, preventing, and dismantling drug networks across Karnataka.

Amid growing drug-related crimes in Karnataka, the state government decided to form Anti-Narcotic Task Force. (Representational)

According to an official government order issued on August 1, the ANTF will operate under the overall supervision of the Director General and Inspector General of Police (DG & IGP), with daily operations overseen by the Additional Director General of Police, Cyber Command. The creation of this task force marks a strategic shift in Karnataka’s anti-drug efforts, offering a more coordinated and intelligence-driven approach.

The newly formed task force will consist of 10 sanctioned posts, including two Additional Superintendents of Police and two Assistant Commissioners of Police dedicated to supervising narcotics investigations. To bolster its manpower, the government has decided to reallocate 56 personnel from the Anti-Naxal Force (ANF), including two inspectors and four sub-inspectors, to the ANTF. Additionally, the unit will enlist the support of external forensic experts, legal professionals, and data analysts on an outsourced basis to strengthen casework and intelligence analysis.

The government has pegged the annual recurring cost of operating the ANTF at ₹2.77 crore, covering staffing and other operational expenses.

Home Minister G Parameshwara, speaking about the development, said the ANTF would function as a dynamic task force, acting swiftly on leads and intelligence inputs. “Wherever the information comes from, the task force will move into action. Instructions have already been issued to all Superintendents of Police,” he told reporters.

He added that the reallocation of personnel from the ANF was a strategic decision, especially in light of improved internal security conditions in Karnataka. “We have declared that there are no longer any Naxals in the state. So, there was a discussion about disbanding the ANF. Instead, we decided to retain it in a limited form and redeploy staff where needed,” he said.

The reorganisation also aligns with the state’s restructuring of its cyber crime infrastructure. As part of this effort, the government has renamed 43 CEN (Cyber, Economic and Narcotics) police stations as cyber crime police stations, limiting their jurisdiction strictly to offences under the Information Technology Act and relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). These stations will no longer register narcotics or economic offence cases, with such matters now falling under the purview of the ANTF.

(With PTI inputs)