181 suspects held in drug trafficking cases under Operation D Hunt

The City police registered 178 cases within a week after launching the Operation D Hunt special drive against drug pushers. To date, 181 suspects have been arrested from various parts of the city by the special squads led by the District Anti-Narcotics Special Action Force (DANSAF).

Police sources said the majority of the 166 cases were registered against suspects who consumed synthetic drugs. During the special drive, 4.15 kg of ganja and 135.7 gm of MDMA were seized. Two of the seizures were listed under commercial quantity.

The special checking drive was carried out under the supervision of Deputy Commissioner of Police Arun K. Pavithran. All public spots, including railway stations, bus stands, and malls, were under the close watch of the special squads. There were also instructions to the local police to zero in on suspects at large in connection with local drug peddling cases.

According to official figures from the District Crime Records Bureau (DCRB), the anti-narcotics squad registered 363 cases from January 2025 to February 22, 2025. Within this short period, 387 suspected carriers were arrested. There were eight commercial quantity cases and three medium quantity cases. The total quantity of ganja and MDMA seized during the period was 42.36 kg and 1.64 kg, respectively.

Operation D Hunt was planned after noticing a huge spike in the seizure of synthetic drugs. Anti-narcotics squad members said more suspects were under the scanner based on the call detail records of previously arrested drug pushers. Inter-State goods lorry operators and tourist bus drivers would also be put under surveillance following a State-level instruction, they said.

Last year, the police were able to arrest 1,991 suspects in various narcotics cases in Kozhikode city alone. The total number of cases registered last year was 1,835. There were 32 commercial quantity seizures and 36 medium quantity seizures. According to DCRB figures, 157.18 kg of ganja and 3.10 kg of MDMA were recovered from the suspects.