Kerala Sets Up Anti-Narcotic Investigation Team as Operation Toofan Nears Phase II
Kerala forms a dedicated Anti-Narcotic Investigation Team and announces the second phase of Operation Toofan, focused on demand reduction, from September 28.
The Kerala government has ordered the creation of a dedicated Anti-Narcotic Investigation Team to probe high-value drug trafficking cases with interstate and international dimensions, Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala said on Friday.
The new mechanism is meant to take investigations past individual arrests and seizures towards identifying the masterminds, the wider networks and the sources that supply narcotics to the state.
The team will operate through three units, based in Thiruvananthapuram, Ernakulam and Kozhikode. It will be headed by Putta Vimaladitya, Inspector General of Police, North Range, who is also the nodal officer of Operation Toofan. Each unit will have a Deputy Superintendent of Police, two Circle Inspectors, two Sub-Inspectors and other personnel.
Providing an update on the enforcement drive, the Minister said 10,918 cases had been registered across Kerala under Operation Toofan and 11,776 accused persons arrested as of 10 a.m. on Friday. Seizures so far include 23.925 kg of MDMA, 1,457 kg of ganja, 5.32 grams of hashish oil, 707 grams of brown sugar, 530 grams of heroin, 27.6 grams of cocaine and 2,398 ganja plants. Sustained action has cut the supply of narcotic substances in the state by an estimated 20% to 30%, he said.
In the latest development in a major case, four more members of an interstate trafficking network were arrested in connection with the seizure of 13 kg of MDMA in Coimbatore, registered at the Manjeri police station in Malappuram. The haul, valued at about ₹10 crore, is among the largest made by Kerala Police.
The four accused were identified as Mohammed Haris of Malappuram, Akhil Joy of Wayanad, Salahudeen of Palakkad and Karthik, a native of Udhagamandalam in Tamil Nadu. Haris, Akhil Joy and Salahudeen were picked up from Bhagalpur in Bihar, while Karthik was apprehended in Chennai; all were later brought to Malappuram. With these arrests, the total number of persons held by Malappuram police in the case has risen to 13.
The accused had been evading arrest by avoiding mobile phones and moving through hideouts across states, the Minister said. The network's links were found to extend to Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Bihar.
Operation Toofan will enter its second phase on September 28, shifting emphasis from supply reduction to demand reduction, prevention, treatment, rehabilitation and social reintegration. Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan will launch the phase at Vengara in Malappuram.
The second phase will focus on forming Toofan Janajagratha Samithis, or public awareness committees, through all local self-government institutions. Panchayats, municipalities and corporations will be involved, along with residential associations and other community organisations. The committees will function in every ward under the leadership of elected representatives, working to spread awareness about the dangers of narcotic substances and to ensure timely intervention within families and communities.