Over the past two years, Gujarat police have arrested over 3 lakh people in liquor prohibition and narcotics cases.
The police also seized narcotics worth over Rs 4,058 crore and liquor worth Rs 211 crore in the same time period.
The state government released these figures in the ongoing session of the Legislative Assembly on Saturday. The Minister of State for Home, Harsh Sanghavi, informed the House about the seizures.
The government figures stated that police seized 1.66 crore bottles of different brands of Indian-Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) worth Rs 197 crore, while the accumulative seizure of over 12 lakh beer bottles was valued at Rs 10.47 crore.
The figure was based on seizures carried out in 25 districts. The data revealed that a total of 3,39,244 people were arrested, the majority with liquor and banned substances such as heroin and charas, among others. The data said that 2,987 people were wanted by police.
Sanghavi also informed the House that Gujarat ATS seized nearly 185 kg of narcotics, mostly heroin, and arrested 32 Pakistani nationals in the past two years from the coastline. He also said that 75 kg of heroin worth Rs 375 crore was seized from Mundra port.
Reacting to the figures, Congress leader Amit Chavda said the trend was “worrisome” and alleged that “what is being caught by the police is barely one per cent of the total consumption of narcotics and liquor.” He said “the drugs and liquor are ruining the lives of Gujarati youths.”
Published 12 March 2023, 00:53 IST