Gandhinagar (Gujarat) [India], September 6 (ANI): With Gujarat having the country's longest coastline, the Gujarat Police, under the guidance of Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and the leadership of Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi, has adopted a 'Zero Tolerance' policy against drug networks to make the state completely 'drug-free'.

According to a release, the police have worked to prevent the youth of Gujarat and other states from falling into drug abuse. As part of this effort, dedicated 'Anti-Narcotics Wings' (ANW) will now be made operational in every district and city of Gujarat.

At present, teams of LCB/SOG/Local Police in every city and district are registering cases against narcotic substances. In addition to this, the work will now also be undertaken by dedicated ANW Units. Over the past five years, the Gujarat Police has registered more than 3,700 cases under the NDPS Act and arrested 5,346 accused. During this period, more than 1.36 lakh kilograms of drugs worth approximately Rs. 13,600 crore have been seized, crippling international drug-smuggling networks. 

To strengthen the fight against drug networks and make it more effective, State Police Chief Gyanendra Singh Malik has taken another important decision. On the lines of the state-level Anti-Narcotics Task Force (ANTF), ANW units will now be established at every district and commissionerate level. All these units have been ordered to become operational within the next 7 days, the release said. 

The structure and functioning of the ANW Unit is that each ANW unit will have a strength of 8 capable officers and personnel, comprising 1 Police Inspector, 1 Police Sub-Inspector, 2 ASIs/Head Constables and 4 Police Constables. A separate vehicle and driver will be allocated to this team. At the district level, the unit will function under the direct supervision of the Superintendent of Police. In Ahmedabad City, 2 units; Surat City, 2 units; Vadodara City, 1 unit; and Rajkot City, 1 unit will function under the supervision of the Joint/Additional CP.

The ANW will function as a 'Specialised Task Force' and work exclusively on NDPS-related crimes. No other duties will be assigned to this team. The ANW will maintain continuous surveillance on drug peddlers and hotspots identified by the ANTF and will send proposals to CID Crime for taking preventive action under PIT-NDPS against habitual drug offenders. Even after the formation of the ANW, local police stations will continue to detect NDPS cases. If any negligence or laxity by the local police is found during ANW investigations, strict disciplinary action will be taken, the release said. 

Gujarat is the first state in the country to implement a 'Drug Reward Policy' to incentivise police personnel and informants who help in apprehending drug networks, as well as an 'Out-of-Turn Promotion' policy for personnel who perform duties at the risk of their lives.

For the first time in the country, an artificial intelligence-based software has been developed to detect dark web activities, financial trails and international connections. Scientific investigation is being undertaken to increase the conviction rate in courts.

Additionally, under the guidance of DyCM, along with taking strict action against criminals, the state is adopting a sensitive approach towards youth affected by drug addiction. De-addiction centres across the state are being modernised to provide appropriate counselling and treatment. (ANI)