Uttar Pradesh has confiscated properties worth about Rs 78.5 crore in 69 cases between January 1 and September 23 this year as part of an intensified crackdown on narcotics traffickers, according to an official statement. The value of these confiscations was more than four times higher than the previous year.
The action was carried out jointly by the Uttar Pradesh Police and the Anti-Narcotics Task Force (ANTF). The state government has also stepped up moves to detain alleged drug traffickers under the Prevention of Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (PIT-NDPS) Act.
The statement said properties worth about Rs 19 crore were confiscated in 29 cases in 2025. It also said detention proceedings under the PIT-NDPS Act were started against seven narcotics traffickers in 2024, including five cases by the ANTF. The number rose to 19 in 2025 and further to 71 in 2026.
Director General of Police Rajeev Krishna said the objective was not limited to arresting traffickers, but also to dismantle their networks and target assets allegedly acquired through the narcotics trade. He said the state was intensifying efforts towards its goal of making Uttar Pradesh drug-free by 2029. Krishna said targeting the financial network of traffickers was aimed at striking at the root of the narcotics trade.
The statement said action against properties allegedly linked to the narcotics trade has increased over the years. In 2024, the ANTF confiscated properties worth about Rs 1 crore in four cases. The figure rose to around Rs 17 crore in 28 cases in 2025 and about Rs 13 crore in 40 cases in 2026.
Among those against whom detention action has been taken under the PIT-NDPS Act are alleged narcotics traffickers Gurumel Singh, Bhola Prasad, Sanjeev Rana, Vibhor Rana, Shermani Patel and Parmanand alias Pappu.
Krishna said that under Sections 68-E and 68-F of the NDPS Act, properties allegedly acquired through narcotics trafficking are provisionally frozen and, after investigation and due hearing, permanently confiscated. He said the process was meant to weaken traffickers financially while also disrupting their narcotics networks. Overall, the latest figures show a sharper state push against both the assets and networks of alleged narcotics traffickers.
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With inputs from PTI
