How Delhi Police nabbed nearly 100 narco offenders in one night during raids at nearly 800 locations

Delhi Police conducted Operation Kavach 9.0 on the night of August 9-10 to tackle narcotics and organised crime in the city. The simultaneous raids were held at 794 locations across 15 districts. The crackdown resulted in 92 arrests of narco offenders and the seizure of a large amount of drugs and cash, a TOI report stated.

Police seized 307 grams of heroin, 33.165 kg of ganja, 67 grams of hybrid ganja, 610 grams of charas, 22.25 grams of MDMA, 2.26 grams of LSD, and Rs 12.2 lakh in cash during the operation. The raids involved 360 teams from police stations, the crime branch, and the special cell, acting under police commissioner SBK Singh’s directive to target drug sales on city streets.

Cases and arrests under various laws

Special commissioner Devesh Srivastava said police registered 275 cases under the Delhi Excise Act and arrested 279 people. Additionally, 75 individuals were arrested under Section 126/170 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita. Police also detained 12,834 people under Section 65 of the Delhi Police Act as a preventive measure.


The operation saw the seizure of 50,060 quarters of illicit liquor. A total of 1,183 people were arrested under the Delhi Excise Act for preventive reasons. Srivastava described the operation as "a significant step in Delhi Police's efforts to combat the drug trade and save the city's youth from the menace of narcotics."

Preventive actions and other prosecutions
Officials said 1,858 people were taken into preventive custody during the raids, and the police checked the whereabouts of 227 known criminals. Police prosecuted 2,968 violators under the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act for selling tobacco products near schools.

Joint commissioner (crime) Surendra Kumar said, "A total of 1,685 vehicles were seized under the Delhi Police Act. The operation demonstrated Delhi Police's commitment to taking stringent action against those involved in the trade and to creating a safer and healthier environment for the city's residents."

Operation Kavach

Operation Kavach began in May 2023 as part of Delhi Police’s continuous efforts to fight narcotics in the city. The operation focuses on identifying and arresting both street-level drug peddlers and higher-level traffickers. Police have adopted a top-to-bottom and bottom-to-top approach to dismantle drug networks and trace their linkages.

Till July 31, police arrested 1,784 narco offenders in 1,425 cases under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act. During this period, they recovered about 45 kg of heroin/smack, 3,770 kg of ganja, 250 kg of opium, 33 kg of charas, 19 kg of poppy heads, and 3 kg of cocaine.