Assam anti-drug crackdown brings 945 arrests and 547 cases, Amit Shah praises police

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday praised Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and the state police after a state-wide crackdown on drugs led to 945 arrests and 547 cases.

Assam Police ran the state-wide operation on 12 October under the Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyan, after what the Home Ministry called intensive groundwork. Narcotics and psychotropic substances worth about ₹182 crore were seized, and police raided more than 703 drug hotspots.

“A decisive blow to drug networks!” Shah wrote on X. He said the Vision Document on Narcotics Control 2026-29 “reaffirms our resolve to dismantle drug networks, strike at their financial foundations and safeguard our youth”, and added: “The fight against drugs will continue with unwavering resolve.”

The financial side figured large in the ministry’s account. Properties worth about ₹31 crore are being processed for seizure, attachment or freezing, and 157 proposals are being processed under the Prevention of Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act.

Police also executed 73 non-bailable warrants and caught 47 absconders, 10 of them from other northeastern states. The drive went beyond narcotics: 2,229 raids were carried out under the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act, 3,662 businesses were inspected, 2,943 educational institutions were surveyed and 1,34,539 litres of liquor were seized or destroyed.

The police held 633 awareness programmes, which the ministry said reached 1,12,532 citizens and students.