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Pune MD drug haul: Fadnavis felicitates 73 police personnels
The home minister visited the police commissionerate on Saturday following the seizure of over 1,700 kg of MD drugs valued at ₹3,500 crore
Deputy chief minister and home minister Devendra Fadnavis said that the police action against banned drug manufacturing units in the recent times has confirmed that such illegal units are proliferating around us, and the authorities should step up efforts to curb such activities.
The home minister visited the police commissionerate on Saturday following the seizure of over 1,700 kg of MD drugs valued at ₹3,500 crore. He felicitated 73 police personnels for their part in one of the largest drug seizures in the history of Pune police.
Addressing the police personnel, Fadnavis said, “Like in the earlier times when many households had jaggery production units, now manufacturing banned drugs has become common. Furnishing banned chemicals facilitates the production of products like MD. Such illegal activities are carried out for greed and easy money as it is a lucrative business.”
The minister announced a reward of ₹25 lakh for the Pune police unit.
He instructed the police to crack down on drug syndicates that are using couriers, darknet, and social media platforms to distribute consignments.
Meanwhile, Union home minister Amit Shah has directed all states to coordinate with each other in drug-related cases.
The state government has been running a “Drug-Free Maharashtra” campaign for the past few months. Fadnavis said that while guns and missiles may not be able to achieve what drugs are doing, it is imperative to eradicate it.
Fadnavis acknowledged the challenges ahead but asserted that it is a concerted and continuous effort. Learning from the recent action, they understand the importance of backward and forward linkages in drug cartels. In this case, Pune police have traced all such linkages, leading to the seizure of drugs in such large quantities.
“Merely arresting individuals is not enough. We must find out where it came from, how it arrived, and through which route. It is important to uncover all these details, and it is commendable that we have begun doing so,” he said.
