Jammu and Kashmir Director General of Police Nalin Prabhat on Thursday, 14 May declared that the J&K Police is combating the narcotics menace with the same resolve and seriousness it brings to fighting Pakistan-sponsored terrorism. Speaking at a press conference in Srinagar, Prabhat outlined the scale of operations under the ongoing 'Nasha Mukt J&K Abhiyaan' — a campaign he said has delivered significant results within its first month.

Campaign Launch and Leadership

The 'Nasha Mukt J&K Abhiyan' was formally launched on 11 April 2025 under the leadership of Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha. According to Prabhat, the campaign has rapidly evolved into a mass movement, with active participation from communities at the grassroots level. The DGP credited LG Sinha's leadership for the campaign's momentum and acknowledged the public's role in sustaining it.

Key Operational Numbers

Prabhat detailed a sharp escalation in enforcement activity. J&K Police registered 724 FIRs and arrested 806 individuals in connection with narcotics-related offences during the campaign period. A total of 667 kilograms of narcotics and 19,000 units of psychotropic substances were seized. Preventive action was taken against 24 habitual drug offenders.

Separately, 97 properties worth approximately ₹41.85 crore linked to the narcotics trade have been identified and attached so far. Of these, 41 illegal properties worth nearly ₹15 crore — raised from drug-trade proceeds — have been demolished following due legal process. Illicit cultivation of poppy and cannabis spread across 117 kanals of land has also been destroyed.

National Rankings and Multi-Year Performance

The DGP noted that J&K Police has maintained consistent performance against narcotics networks since 2023. There has been a 12-fold increase in the attachment of properties linked to drug trafficking between 2023 and 2026. In 2025, J&K Police ranked third nationally in property attachment under the NDPS Act and secured the number one rank in PIT-NDPS detentions, with 240 such detentions recorded during the year.

The current campaign has also seen a nearly seven-fold increase in NDPS cases compared to the same period last year — a figure the DGP described as reflecting intensified ground-level action.

Notable Operations

Anantnag Police attached properties worth ₹6.17 crore in a single case — the highest single-case attachment recorded during the Abhiyaan so far. In a separate operation, Kulgam Police attached properties worth ₹93 lakh in Belicharana, Jammu, tracing the backward linkages of narcotics networks beyond the Union Territory's borders.

Additionally, 5,238 chemists and drug shops were inspected, with action initiated against 151 establishments found violating rules. Driving licences of 162 individuals involved in narcotics cases were cancelled or suspended, and registration certificates of 92 vehicles were suspended or cancelled. 10 passports have been recommended for impounding.

Warning to Pakistan-Linked Trafficker

Prabhat issued a direct warning to Shehzad Bhatti, a Pakistan-based drug trafficker he described as an associate of Pakistan's ISI allegedly involved in pushing narcotics into India. The DGP stated that J&K Police will continue to track and dismantle such networks and their infrastructure. This comes amid broader concerns about narco-terrorism — the use of drug trafficking to destabilise society and fund militant activity — which Prabhat said poses a serious threat to J&K's younger generation.

Awareness efforts have also been extensive: 2,401 sensitisation programmes were conducted across schools, colleges, public places, and identified hotspots, reaching more than three lakh participants. As the campaign enters its second month, officials say enforcement pressure will continue to intensify.