Lucknow, Sep 24 Uttar Pradesh has confiscated properties worth approximately Rs 78.5 crore in 69 cases this year as part of intensified action against narcotics traffickers, with the value of such seizures rising more than fourfold from the previous year, according to an official statement issued here on Thursday.
The combined action by the Uttar Pradesh Police and Anti-Narcotics Task Force (ANTF) was carried out between January 1 and September 23, the statement said.
In 2025, properties worth approximately Rs 19 crore were confiscated in 29 cases.
The intensified crackdown is part of the state government’s campaign against the narcotics trade, under which the police and ANTF have also initiated proceedings for detention of drug traffickers under the Prevention of Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (PIT-NDPS) Act.
According to the figures shared in the statement, detention proceedings under the PIT NDPS Act were initiated 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.
UP Director General of Police (DGP) 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.
The action against properties allegedly linked to the narcotics trade has also increased over the years.
In 2024, the ANTF confiscated properties worth approximately Rs 1 crore in four cases. The figure rose to around Rs 17 crore in 28 cases in 2025 and approximately 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.
The DGP said targeting the financial network of traffickers was aimed at striking at the root of the narcotics trade.
Under Sections 68-E and 68-F of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, properties allegedly acquired through narcotics trafficking are provisionally frozen and, after investigation and due hearing, permanently confiscated, he said.
Krishna said the process was intended to weaken traffickers financially while simultaneously disrupting their narcotics networks.
(PTI News)
