Chandigarh, March 9 (IANS) The Punjab Police said on Monday that they have frozen illegally acquired properties worth more than Rs 600 crore linked to drug traffickers in the past two years, marking a major milestone in its ongoing crackdown on the drug economy in the state.

Impressively, Punjab accounted for 50 per cent of all properties frozen in 2024 in connection with drug cases in the country.

The strategy reflects a significant shift in enforcement priorities, from merely arresting offenders and seizing narcotics to systematically targeting the illicit wealth generated through drug trafficking.

By hitting traffickers where it hurts the most, their illegal properties, Punjab Police aim to dismantle the economic infrastructure that sustains the drug trade.

The pace of property freezing has accelerated significantly in recent years.

Assets to the tune of nearly Rs 330 crore were frozen in 2024, while properties valued at around Rs 270 crore were frozen in 2025.

Significantly, more than Rs 600 crore worth of illegal properties of drug smugglers have been frozen in the past two years alone, accounting for more than half of the nearly Rs 1,000 crore worth of assets frozen since 2017, highlighting the intensified push to dismantle the financial foundations of the drug trade.

Punjab Police investigations now routinely track the proceeds of drug crime through properties, bank accounts, shell companies, benami holdings and luxury assets.

Residential houses, commercial establishments, agricultural land and high-value vehicles which are acquired illegally have been identified and freezed under relevant provisions of law.

“The crackdown forms an important pillar of the Punjab government’s “Yudh Nashean Virudh” (War Against Drugs) campaign, which aims to combat the narcotics menace through coordinated enforcement, prevention, and rehabilitation measures,” an official statement said.

Under the campaign, the police have intensified intelligence-led operations and financial investigations to dismantle the networks that sustain the drug trade.

A senior Punjab Police official said the crackdown on illegal wealth acquired by drug smugglers is a deliberate strategy aimed at dismantling the incentive structure that sustains the drug trade.

“We are following what is amongst India’s most aggressive and financially intelligent anti-drug enforcement models. We are not only catching smugglers, but dismantling the financial empires built on drugs. Drug trafficking thrives on the promise of huge illegal profits. Our strategy is to destroy that incentive by systematically targeting and freezing assets created from drug money. When traffickers realise that their properties, land and wealth can be confiscated, the economic foundation of the drug trade begins to collapse. Economic disruption and financial warfare against drug trafficking is therefore a central pillar of Punjab Police’s anti-drug strategy,” the official added.

–IANS

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