Kerala Minister Says All Operation Toofan Drug Cases Are Getting Proper Probes

The government is taking all necessary steps to ensure proper investigations and time-bound chargesheets with scientific evidence in all narcotics cases under Operation Toofan. Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala stated in the Assembly on Tuesday that steps are also underway to start court hearings while accused individuals remain in judicial custody in commercial quantity seizure cases. He was replying to a calling attention motion moved by Parakkal Abdullah about completing investigations and legal procedures for Operation Toofan.

Enforcement and Seizures

Repeat offenders are facing charges under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and the Prevention of Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1988. Following the launch of Operation Toofan, authorities charged 89 persons under the Kerala Anti-Social Activities Prevention Act, 2007, and 26 persons under the PIT-NDPS Act between June 2 and October 19. The drive has registered 1,188 commercial quantity cases, 611 intermediate quantity cases, and 4,424 small quantity cases, totaling 13,672 registered cases and 14,802 booked persons. Legal measures have begun for 14,780 of them, while police traced the source of the trade in about 60 cases.

Drugs and Second Phase

Police seized narcotic substances worth over 200 crore rupees, including 28.365 kilograms of MDMA, 1,827.5 kilograms of ganja, 7.25 kilograms of hashish oil, and 1.23 kilograms of methamphetamine. The second phase of Operation Toofan focuses on awareness creation, counselling, rehabilitation, and social re-integration with the help of local self-governments. Intelligence sharing with neighbouring States and intensified border checks continue to prevent drug trade across borders, and the Home Minister stated the operation will continue until the State achieves a narcotics-free goal.

Context

Large-scale state-level anti-narcotics drives typically combine strict legal enforcement against repeat offenders with public health initiatives for rehabilitation and community awareness. Border surveillance and intelligence sharing between neighbouring regions are common strategies used by law enforcement to disrupt wider drug supply networks.