Delhi Police on Monday, 19 July destroyed 1,452 kg of seized narcotic substances with an international market value of ₹897 crore, in what officials described as one of the largest single narcotics destruction drives the capital has witnessed. The event, conducted jointly with the Crime Branch, marked the tenth such destruction exercise carried out by the force.

Scale of the Destruction Drive

The drugs incinerated on Monday spanned a wide range of substances: 1,010 kg of methamphetamine, 135 kg of heroin, 62 kg of charas, 37 kg of ganja, 16 kg of methaqualone, 91 kg of poppy straw, 70 kg of phenethylamine, over 15 lakh tramadol tablets, over 36,000 bottles of codeine syrup, and other psychotropic substances — all seized during various operations and enforcement drives across the city.

With Monday's destruction, the cumulative total of drugs seized and destroyed by Delhi Police has reached 49,663 kg, valued at ₹14,799 crore in the international market — a figure that underscores the scale of the narcotics challenge the capital continues to confront.

What Senior Officials Said

H.G.S. Dhaliwal, IPS, Special Commissioner of Police, Delhi Crime Branch, addressed the gathering, stressing that the exercise went beyond the physical destruction of contraband. He said the drive was about 'dismantling an ecosystem that threatens the future of youth, weakens families, and harms society as a whole.'

An official statement from Delhi Police cited ongoing initiatives including 'Operation Kavach' and several other narcotics detection and seizure programmes as part of a sustained enforcement push. 'Through initiatives like 'Operation Kavach' and various other rigorous narcotic detections, operations as well as seizure of high-quality drugs and Drug Destruction program, we have taken significant steps to curb drug trafficking and aim to uproot this menace completely,' the statement read.

Policy Backdrop: Zero Tolerance and Drug-Free India

The destruction drive was carried out in line with the national goal of a 'Drug-Free India' articulated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the 'Zero Tolerance' policy on narcotics underscored by Home Minister Amit Shah. Delhi Police has framed its enforcement activity — including crackdowns on smugglers, traffickers, and street-level peddlers — within this national policy directive.

Notably, methamphetamine accounted for nearly 70% of the weight destroyed on Monday, reflecting a pattern that enforcement officials have flagged: the growing infiltration of synthetic drugs into urban supply chains, which are harder to trace and faster to manufacture than traditional plant-based narcotics.

What Comes Next

Delhi Police indicated that enforcement operations will continue with intensified focus across all ranks, with the Commissioner of Police having personally directed officers to make concerted efforts toward a drug-free capital. Further destruction drives are expected as seized stock accumulates from ongoing operations.