New Delhi, Feb 22 (IANS) Director General of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), Anurag Garg, interacted with sarpanches of border villages in Punjab’s Amritsar district and sought their active support in strengthening efforts to combat drug trafficking and substance abuse, an official statement said on Sunday.

During the interaction, Garg emphasised the need for a whole-of-community approach to address the menace of drugs and stressed the important role that local communities can play in preventing trafficking and addiction.

He urged village elders and community leaders to guide the youth away from substance abuse and encourage their participation in sports and other constructive activities. Garg assured them of the NCB’s full support in community-led initiatives aimed at prevention, awareness, and rehabilitation, the statement said.

During his interaction with villagers on Saturday, Garg also encouraged sarpanches to promote and use the MANAS helpline (1933) to report drug smuggling and seek assistance for rehabilitation-related issues.

The outreach initiative forms part of the NCB’s broader strategy to strengthen grassroots-level cooperation in border areas, which are considered vulnerable to cross-border drug trafficking.

Earlier, Garg visited the India AI Impact Summit 2026 in New Delhi, where he reviewed emerging artificial intelligence-driven technologies aimed at enhancing enforcement capabilities and combating drug trafficking more effectively.

“During the visit, Garg and accompanying officials were briefed on modern technological tools that can assist enforcement agencies in identifying and tracking drug trafficking networks,” the official statement said.

In a separate message, Garg reiterated the NCB’s commitment to eliminating drug trafficking and abuse.

“As the nation’s premier agency in the fight against drug trafficking and abuse, the NCB is committed to safeguarding the health and security of society by eliminating the menace of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances,” he said.

He said the agency’s mission encompasses intelligence gathering, enforcement operations, rehabilitation support, and public awareness initiatives.

“We work relentlessly to strengthen coordination among central and state agencies and engage with international partners to ensure that India’s borders remain secure against illicit drug trafficking,” Garg said.

He added that in recent years, the NCB has made significant progress in tackling drug-related crimes through focused enforcement operations, improved inter-agency coordination, and the use of advanced technological tools.

“The success of these efforts depends on the collective responsibility of law enforcement agencies, civil society, and the public,” the NCB Director General said.

–IANS

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