SHIMLA: Tightening the noose around the booming drug mafia in Himachal Pradesh, the state police and STF have launched another massive crackdown, exposing how narcotics networks are quietly spreading from remote mountain villages to industrial hubs.
In one of the biggest anti-drug operations in recent months, the STF destroyed a staggering 1,32,787 illegally cultivated opium plants in Kullu district while another raid in Baddi led to the seizure of over 2.23 lakh intoxicating tablets, revealing the deepening roots of the drug trade across the hill state.
The operations were carried out under the state government’s Anti-Chitta/Drug-Free Himachal campaign.
Four Bighas of Poison Growing in Kullu Hills
Acting on intelligence inputs, STF teams raided Village Shalingcha in the Bathad area of Banjar subdivision in Kullu district and uncovered illegal opium cultivation spread over nearly four bighas of private land.
Police teams uprooted and destroyed around 1.32 lakh opium plants on the spot, exposing how remote mountain terrain is increasingly being misused by drug syndicates for cultivating narcotics away from public glare.
Two separate cases under the NDPS Act have been registered at Banjar police station against those involved in the cultivation racket.
The massive haul has once again raised serious questions over how drug cartels are penetrating rural Himachal and turning fertile mountain land into narcotics fields while authorities struggle to contain the growing menace.
Baddi Pharma Belt Under Scanner
In another major strike, a joint team of Himachal Pradesh Police and the Drug Department raided premises at Salasar Complex in Baddi and unearthed a huge stockpile of banned psychotropic medicines and intoxicating tablets.
Officials seized 2,23,084 tablets, including:
1,61,920 tablets of Tramadol Hydrochloride
61,164 tablets of Alprazolam (Atrox-0.5)
Two accused — Shiv Poojan Prajapati from Uttar Pradesh and Anurag Shukla from Kanpur — were arrested during the operation.
A case under the NDPS Act has been registered at Baddi police station and investigators are now probing the supply chain, financial links and possible interstate network behind the racket.
The latest seizure has once again put the spotlight on Baddi’s pharmaceutical belt, where repeated recoveries of banned medicines and intoxicating drugs have exposed glaring loopholes and the growing nexus between illegal pharma operations and narcotics trafficking.
“Drug Mafia Will Not Be Spared”: DGP
DGP Ashok Tewari praised the STF, district police and Drug Department teams for the coordinated operations and said Himachal Police remains committed to dismantling drug trafficking networks across the state.
He said the battle against drugs cannot be fought by police alone and called for support from parents, educational institutions, social organisations and citizens to save the youth from addiction.
The DGP warned that strict and sustained action would continue against traffickers attempting to destroy the social fabric of Himachal Pradesh.
With chitta, synthetic drugs and pharmaceutical abuse tightening their grip on the hill state, the latest crackdown signals that the police have shifted into aggressive enforcement mode.
But on the ground, many believe the real challenge lies in dismantling the political protection, interstate supply chains and money networks that allow the drug trade to flourish despite repeated seizures.
