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Shimla Police Surgical Strike on Nine Cartels having Intl -Pan India Link
Shimla, April 22,
In a major breakthrough against the growing drug menace in Himachal Pradesh, Shimla Police has dismantled nine drug cartels with pan-India and international linkages, marking a significant escalation in its anti-narcotics operations.
The Action reflects a strategic shift from targeting street-level peddlers to systematically dismantling entire trafficking networks.
Shimla police Chief Mr. Garauv Singh said the success stems from strengthened investigations under the NDPS Act, particularly through the use of “backward linkages” — a method that traces supply chains to identify key suppliers, financiers and handlers.
So far in 2026, 27 accused have been arrested through this approach within just three-and-a-half months, the highest in the past five years. In comparison, only four such arrests were made during the same period in 2024 and nine in 2025.
The crackdown has also extended beyond state boundaries. As many as 27 key suppliers and smugglers have been arrested from outside Himachal Pradesh this year alone — nearly three times more than last year and seven times higher than in 2024.
Investigations have revealed links to interstate and international networks operating from Nepal and states including Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Kerala and Uttar Pradesh.
In total, 19 trafficking networks have been dismantled in 2026 so far, compared to just four in 2025 and one in 2024, underscoring the intensified scale of enforcement.
Among the major cases, police seized commercial quantities of LSD worth ₹1 crore and arrested seven accused, including four policemen. In another case, 11.5 kg of opium smuggled from Nepal was recovered along with Rs 12 lakh in cash.
A network operating from Ambala was also busted with the seizure of 288 grams of contraband.
Police said the action has significantly disrupted supply chains, curbing the availability of drugs and preventing thousands of youth from falling into addiction, while reaffirming their commitment to sustained and targeted operations.
The increasing influence of such cartel on the socio-economic life of people of Himachal Pradesh and North India is a new challenge which needs effective and planned wars against the drug lords to save the young generations being targeted by the traffickers having wider impact on the economy of people beside a new challenge for the Nation already dealing with number of burning issues
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