Nagpur Police's Operation Thunder: 1,438 arrested, drugs worth about Rs 22 crore seized

Nagpur Police's Operation Thunder is no longer just a policing campaign. It was launched during the tenure of Ravindrakumar Singal, former Commissioner of Police of the city and now ADG. Besides arresting drug peddlers and seizing drugs, the campaign stressed reaching the root of the entire network. It also looked into the sources of illegal earnings and sought to involve society in the drive for a drug-free community.

According to police figures, more than 1,000 cases were registered under the NDPS Act during Operation Thunder. About 1,438 accused were arrested. Narcotics worth roughly Rs 22 crore were seized, including about 1,500 kg of ganja and 17 kg of mephedrone.

A distinguishing feature of the campaign was that police did not focus only on small peddlers selling drugs on the street. They also probed who is behind the drug supply chain, where the money is coming from and who controls the financial resources linked to the trade.

ADG Singal held that the arrest of one peddler does not end the drug trade, as someone else can take their place. It was therefore necessary for the action to reach those who run the whole network and arrange money for it.

Nagpur Police also made prevention and awareness an important part of the campaign. Awareness programmes were held in schools and colleges. According to police, these reached more than 5 lakh students. Young people were told about the harm caused by drugs, and anti-drug pledges and public awareness programmes were also held.

Police also ran outreach drives in slums and economically weaker areas. The emphasis was on helping young people understand the danger of drugs before they fall into their grip.