Police registered 24 cases and arrested 61 people during a 24-hour anti-drug operation conducted across the district. Police also apprehended a proclaimed offender and searched 13 hotspots identified as being linked to drug trafficking.
The operation was conducted under the Cordoning and Search Operation (CASO) initiative, with searches carried out simultaneously at locations identified by the police. Khanna senior superintendent of police (SSP) Darpan Ahluwalia said the operation was aimed at checking the sale and trafficking of narcotics and disrupting the network involved in the illegal drug trade.
Sadar Khanna police registered four cases and arrested eight people, while searches were conducted at two hotspots. City-1 police registered two cases and arrested five people and searched one hotspot. City-2 police registered three cases and arrested eight people and searched one hotspot.
Payal police registered three cases and arrested seven people after searches at two hotspots. Doraha police also registered three cases and arrested seven people and searched two hotspots. Police in Doraha additionally apprehended a proclaimed offender wanted in an old case.
Maloud police registered four cases and arrested eight people, while two hotspots were searched. Samrala police registered three cases and arrested 10 people and conducted searches at two hotspots. Machhiwara Sahib police registered two cases and arrested eight people after searches at one hotspot.
Ahluwalia said the police would take strict action against people involved in selling drugs, trafficking narcotics or facilitating such activities. She said the operation would target the wider supply network and not only street-level sellers.
She also appealed to residents to share information about drug-related activities with the police. Ahluwalia said the anti-drug campaign would remain a priority and such operations would be intensified.