Narcotics bureau, govt to conduct joint operations

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 26

The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the Punjab Government on Wednesday decided to conduct joint operations and share information on drugs by pooling in resources to effectively tackle the menace in the state.

The decision was taken during a meeting between NCB Director General Abhay and Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh. The former had called on the Chief Minister during a visit to Chandigarh, and the two shared their concerns and strategies on the drugs issue.

The NCB chief extended full support of the agency in training and capacity-building for the Punjab Police to carry out investigation of cases under the NDPS Act. They also discussed joint training of prosecutors, police and judicial officials to achieve higher conviction rates in drugs cases.

Abhay suggested that the STF set up by the state government to tackle the problem and the police officials should focus only on enforcement, with the tasks of de-addiction, rehabilitation and awareness creation to be entrusted with the civil administration. The Health Department was ideally suited to be the nodal department for undertaking and coordinating rehabilitation and prevention strategies, with the DCs spearheading the efforts in their districts.