More than 30 lakh people join Kerala's Operation Toofan campaign

Efforts to increase public participation in the war against drugs in Kerala have intensified. State Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala announced on Thursday that more than 30 lakh people have joined as 'Toofan Warriors' under the state government's 'Operation Toofan' campaign. The primary objective of this campaign is to expand public participation, prevention, and rehabilitation processes for the suppression of narcotics.

The Home Minister addressed a massive programme organised for drug awareness in Palakkad. He described 'Operation Toofan' as a key and signature programme of the UDF government and stated that the campaign has received an extremely encouraging response from the public. During the event, he led the 'Toofan Jagaran' rally organised by a people's collective, in which hundreds of people participated. Chennithala administered an oath against drug consumption to the attendees and declared all participants as 'Toofan Warriors'.

The Home Minister recalled that superstar Mohanlal was the first person to be appointed as a 'Toofan Warrior' in this campaign. He stated, "Operation Toofan is the signature programme of the Kerala government. According to our estimates, more than 30 lakh people across the state have taken the oath and become Toofan Warriors so far."

In a post on the social media platform X, the Home Minister clarified that this campaign is not limited merely to raids and legal enforcement. The main focus of this campaign is to prevent the misuse of drugs and to help those who have fallen victim to addiction to live their lives again. He added that through Operation Toofan, the government is strengthening the prevention, counselling, treatment, and rehabilitation processes. He emphasised that the lasting success of this campaign depends not only on stopping the supply of drugs but also on reducing their demand. According to Chennithala, strong communities require early intervention and better recovery.

Alongside this public awareness campaign, intensive action is being taken by the police against drug networks. According to police figures released on Wednesday, 15,515 people have been arrested in 14,369 cases during the first five months of Operation Toofan. Out of those arrested, 1,173 individuals have been sent to judicial custody.

The details of seizures made by the police are quite shocking. During this period, 28.659 kg of MDMA, 1,960.139 kg of ganja, 7,261.352 grams of hashish oil, 5.85 grams of hashish, 778.309 grams of brown sugar, 1,226.678 grams of methamphetamine, and 673.076 grams of heroin have been seized. Additionally, police have seized 2.871 grams of LSD stamps, 73 grams of nitrazepam, 25.23 grams of opium, 606.81 grams of charas, 3.650 grams of cannabis oil, and 27.634 grams of cocaine. Along with this, 10,341 cannabis plants and 8,682 grams of ganja bidis have also been recovered.

An analysis of registered cases revealed that 193 cases involved commercial quantity drug trafficking, 638 cases involved intermediate quantities, and 4,651 cases were related to small quantities of drugs. According to the police, strict action has been taken in 8,887 cases under the NDPS Act and 8,048 cases under the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA).

Speaking on the coordination between the State and Central governments, according to reports by Hindustan Times and India Today, Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi on Wednesday. In this meeting, he discussed the key priorities of the state's Home Department. Chennithala stated on X that Amit Shah praised the progress of Operation Toofan and assured further assistance under the Central government's 'Nasha Mukt Bharat' framework. The Home Minister emphasised the need for continuous cooperation between the Centre and the states in the fight against drugs.

The government is now launching 'Toofan Thaddesham 2.0' to further expand the prevention and rehabilitation aspects of this campaign. The aim of this initiative is to increase awareness against drugs, reduce demand, identify people at risk of addiction as well as current users, and provide them with facilities for counselling, treatment, and rehabilitation.

In the coming time, a project named 'Toofan Ice' will also be implemented, under which surveillance cameras will be installed in government schools and directly linked to police stations. Apart from this, through 'Toofan Care', drug users will be identified and helped. Through 'Toofan Thaddesham 2.0', the participation of local self-government institutions will be increased, while 'Toofan Mentors' will take responsibility for the coordination and guidance of anti-drug activities.