Drugs worth 50 cr burned by cops on Intl Day Against Drug Abuse

Bengaluru: On the occasion of International Day Against Drug Abuse on Saturday, Karnataka police destroyed drugs worth Rs 50 crore which includeds nearly 24,000 kg of marijuana.

In a statement, Praveen Sood, Karnataka Director General of Police (DGP) said, "the drugs or psychotropic substances were destroyed at district headquarters in the State, including in Bengaluru. On the occasion of International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, district SPs and CPs destroy psychotropic substances seized in the previous years. This will be destroyed as per prescribed procedure at all district headquarters in the presence of committees as per court orders."

According to the police reports, the total estimated value of the drugs destroyed was Rs 50,23,01,619 which included substances seized in 4,066 cases registered in 2020 under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act which led to the arrest of 5,291 persons.

In Udupi, drugs seized from 50 cases under the NDPS Act worth Rs 1 crore were incinerated in a closed container. This included 103 kg marijuana, 919 MDMA tablets and 990 LSD strips. These were seized from cases going back to 2008. Similarly in Mangaluru, 300 kg of seized narcotics were destroyed. Other places where a high amount of narcotics were seized included Belagavi and Kalaburagi in the northern part of the State.