Gujarat ports record highest drug seizures during 2020-24: Centre

New Delhi: The Union Government in Lok Sabha revealed that law enforcement agencies seized narcotics worth Rs 7,350 crore from ports in Gujarat between 2020 and 2024.

In a reply to a question in Rajya Sabha, Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai stated that narcotics worth over Rs 11,310 crore were seized across India during this period. The seizures include all narcotics intercepted by various Drug Law Enforcement Agencies (DLEAs), as reported to the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB).

Among the key seizures in Gujarat:

• In 2021, the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) intercepted 77 kg of heroin at the Container Freight Station (CFS) in Mundra.

• In 2022, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) seized 75 kg of heroin from CFS Mundra, while another ATS operation led to the confiscation of 11 kg of heroin at Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Port, Gandhidham.

• In 2023, DRI intercepted 8,800 kg of talc powder mixed with heroin at CFS Gandhidham (Kachchh), marking one of the largest single seizures in recent times.

• In 2024, CFS Mundra witnessed two notable seizures—28 kg of talc powder laced with heroin and 1,000 vials of Buprenorphine injection, a psychotropic substance.

Other states that led in drug seizures include Maharashtra (Rs 2,367 crore), Tamil Nadu (Rs 1,515 crore), and West Bengal (Rs 78.02 crore). DeshGujarat