To increase the presence of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) in Punjab, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has approved the opening of a full-fledged regional office of the bureau in Amritsar. It will be headed by a Deputy Director-General of the rank of an IG or above.
Punjab will be the first state where drug-related cases will be pursued by two separate offices of the NCB — the existing Zonal Division in Chandigarh and the upcoming regional office.
While the Amritsar office will oversee operations in the Majha and Doaba regions, the Chandigarh division will have jurisdiction over the Malwa belt.
The development came close on the heels of the NCB busting an international drug syndicate operating from Ludhiana in one of its major operations in the country. Sources said the MHA’s focus was on Punjab due to high incidence of cross-border drug smuggling. Besides Amritsar, regional offices will come up in Guwahati, Chennai and Ahmedabad.
Earlier, the Union Government had opened a sub-zone (under the Chandigarh division) in Amritsar about three years ago, when the NCB found illegally manufactured Tramadol (a painkiller) tablets were allegedly shipped to Syria. The MHA now approved a full-fledged regional office as per a letter issued to the Director-General, NCB, on January 12. The sources said no major announcement was made for Maharashtra which witnessed the highest number of smuggling cases last year or Uttar Pradesh, the biggest state.
