Drugs worth ₹3,727 cr seized in Gujarat in last 2 years: Minister

Sanghvi said properties worth ₹32.20 crore belonging to drug traffickers were seized in Kutch district.

Published on: Feb 25, 2026, 19:36:19 IST

By Maulik Pathak

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Ahmedabad: The Gujarat government on Wednesday said drugs worth ₹3,727 crore were seized across the state in the last two years under its zero-tolerance policy against narcotics, with police also acting against properties and illegal constructions linked to drug traffickers.

Gujarat home minister Kaushik Vekariya told the Assembly that 1,647 cases were registered in the last two years and about 41,000 kg of drugs were seized with an estimated market value of ₹3,727 crore.

Deputy CM Harsh Sanghvi said the state was pursuing the goal of a drug-free Gujarat through strict enforcement and sustained investigations. He said the Gujarat police carried out top-to-bottom investigations to trace drug networks to their roots and take action against all those involved.

Sanghvi said properties worth ₹32.20 crore belonging to drug traffickers were seized in Kutch district. He said illegal structures linked to the drug trade were demolished, including structures raised on gauchar and government land in Jamnagar. He said the police, in coordination with forces of other states, dismantled inter-state drug networks, including those operated by “the Pandi brothers”. He said drug manufacturing units were also detected and busted both within Gujarat and in other states.

Sanghvi said the government had adopted a dual approach by combining legal action with rehabilitation. He said drug-addicted youth were being counselled along with their families in cities such as Surat and Ahmedabad under the supervision of police commissioners, instead of being sent to jail. He said the state budget this year provided for opening de-addiction centres in every district to ensure local support.

Vekariya said Jamnagar and Kutch districts accounted for 135 cases, in which 306 accused were arrested and drugs worth more than ₹244.59 crore were seized. He said the anti-terrorist squad and other agencies remained alert to prevent drug trafficking through sea routes. He said an anti-narcotics task force was operational across six zones in the state to break organised drug networks. Vekariya said Gujarat’s drug-related crime rate stood at 0.8%, which he said was the lowest in the country.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Maulik Pathak
He is an Ahmedabad-based journalist with more than two decades of experience. His career spans business journalism and general news, with reporting across politics, crime, governance, public policy, business, industry, infrastructure, energy, ports, aviation, the environment, wildlife and social issues. He began his career in feature writing before moving into business journalism, reporting on companies and sectors including energy, infrastructure, pharmaceuticals, automobiles and real estate. Over the years, his work expanded to politics, courts, crime, public policy, civic affairs, the environment and wildlife. His reporting has taken him from government offices and courtrooms to factory floors, ports, forests and remote villages, covering stories that range from industrial investments and financial markets to elections, conservation and issues affecting everyday life. While many assignments demand the pace of the daily news cycle, others require sustained reporting over months and years to follow developments beyond the headlines. He started his journalism career with the Asian Age in Ahmedabad in 2002 as a feature writer and sub-editor. Since 2022, he has been working with Hindustan Times. Earlier, he worked with Business Standard, DNA, The Economic Times, Mint and The Times of India. His longest stint was with Mint, where he spent more than eight years reporting across multiple beats. During his career, he has worked in both reporting and editing roles, contributing to page planning, local editions and special editorial projects as newsrooms evolved from print-first operations to digital publishing. Early in his career, he also worked on media and documentary projects with an NGO and as a copywriter at a communications agency before returning to journalism. Away from work, he sometimes makes time for a pair of binoculars, table tennis, cinema and the occasional poem.Read More

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