‘Operation Dahan’: UP Police destroys over 63K kg narcotics

Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh Police has destroyed over 63,000 Kg of seized narcotic substances under a statewide anti-drug disposal drive titled ‘Operation Dahan’, officials said on Monday.

The campaign is being conducted by the Anti-Narcotics Task Force on the directions of director general of police Rajeev Krishna.

According to officials, the operation was launched to safely and scientifically dispose of illegal narcotic substances that had been lying for years in police station storage facilities across the state. The campaign, scheduled between March 1 and May 31, has been extended till June 30 to achieve its targets fully.

Police said disposal is being done under provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Seizure, Storage, Sampling and Disposal) Rules, 2022.

Officials said instead of openly burning the contraband, authorities are using incinerators equipped with air pollution control systems to ensure environmentally safe disposal.

According to data, permission has already been obtained from courts for disposal of around 1.15 lakh Kg of seized narcotics under Section 52(A) of the NDPS Act.

So far, 63,901Kg of narcotics have been destroyed, while disposal of 51,529Kg is underway.

Among districts and commissionerates, Agra topped the list with disposal of 9,671 kg, followed by Etawah and Sonbhadra.