Retrofitting Tamil Nadu to strike at drug menace
Governments across the world have struggled to curb the drug menace, driven by cartels. The situation is no different in Tamil Nadu. With the State going through the same classic signs of easy availability of drugs through a wide ground-level network and addiction beginning early among the youth, this report looks at what this government’s Anti Narcotics Task Force will do differently as the…
The Tamil Nadu Police have established a new force, the Anti Narcotics Task Force (ANTF), to tackle the drug menace in the state. This move follows the election promise of Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay to eradicate the drug culture in Tamil Nadu. Since the launch of ANTF, 5,082 drug-related cases have been registered, and 7,214 suspects have been arrested for trafficking, possession, and distribution of drugs.
Over 7,000 kg of ganja, 112 kg of other drugs, and 3.4 lakh tablets have been seized. The force is a response to the growing problem of drug addiction among the youth, including college students, who are drawn to ganja and synthetic stimulants like methamphetamine. The ANTF, formed in response to reports of increasing drug abuse, will be a technology-driven and intelligence-led force.
It will consist of 65 specialized police stations covering 37 police districts and eight city police commissionerates, with each station having 25 personnel dedicated to narcotics enforcement. This force will focus on intelligence gathering, investigation of organized drug trafficking networks, and sustained surveillance, rather than routine policing. The creation of ANTF is part of a broader strategy aimed at creating a drug-free Tamil Nadu.
Written by urgent.news from The Hindu's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
