Representative image of drugs
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Police registered fewer cases under Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act in 2023 than in two years before, mainly because of policy change.
In 2023, NDPS cases stood at 3,443, lower than 4,027 seen in 2022 and 4,555 the year before, CCRB data shows. NDPS Act is invoked when large quantities of illicit drugs are seized.
Srinivas Gowda, DCP (Crime-2), said in June, police started booking drug peddlers and treating consumers as victims of drugs. According to him, three times as many drug peddlers were arrested in 2023 as in years before. More synthetic drugs were seized in 2023, he added.
Police launched special drive on drugs in early 2023, focusing more on peddlers and source of contraband. In 2023, police seized contraband worth Rs 103.22 crore, up from Rs 92.71 crore a year before. In 2021, drugs worth Rs 60 crore were seized.