Kerala Police’s ‘Operation D-Hunt’ leads to 8,931 arrests, major drug seizures across State

Student Police Cadets take part in an anti-drug awareness rally in Kozhikode (file)
| Photo Credit: K Ragesh

The Kerala Police’s ‘Operation D-Hunt’, a special campaign to curb drug-peddling across the State, has led to the registration of 8,646 cases and 8,931 arrests so far.

In the maiden drive, which lasted a day on January 27, 2024, 1,820 persons were checked, out of which 285 were arrested in 281 cases. The drive yielded 28.81 kg of suspected ganja and 85.93 grams of suspected MDMA. Also, 147 suspected ganja beedis, 3,624 tobacco packets, 60 grams of suspected brown sugar and 13.55 grams of suspected hashish oil were seized, the police said.

The 10-day second drive between May 15 and May 24 last year saw the numbers escalating considerably. Over 25,300 persons were checked during the drive which led to the arrest of 2,808 in 2,728 cases. While over 200 kg of alleged ganja were seized, a significantly high 1.42 kg of suspected MDMA were seized. The other seizures included 1,528 suspected ganja beedis, 1,600 tobacco packets, 37.10 grams of suspected hashish oil, nine nitrazepam tablets and 0.10 grams of heroin, according to the Kerala Police.

In the third round of the campaign, held between August 20 and September 1, 2024, as many as 2,984 persons were arrested out of the 10,139 persons checked in 2,875 cases. Significantly, the seizure of suspected ganja and MDMA registered a significant drop to 189.60 grams and 1.14 grams respectively. Besides, 2,068 suspected ganja beedis, 55 packets of tobacco, 113.31 grams of suspected brown sugar, 14.21 grams of hashish oil, 20.03 grams of heroin, and five ganja plants were seized.

In the latest round of D-Hunt, between February 22 and March 1, 2025, the enforcement gathered further momentum. A total of 17,246 individuals were checked, leading to the registration of 2,762 new cases and the arrest of 2,854 persons. After a dip, the seizure of suspected ganja and MDMA increased to 153.57 kg and 1.31 kg respectively. Beedis rolled with suspected ganja numbering 2,074, 1.86 grams of suspected brown sugar, 18.15 grams of hashish oil, 48 nitrazepam tablets, 13.06 grams of heroin, and 54 alprazolam tablets were also seized.

With the seizure of nearly 2 kg of suspected ganja from the men’s hostel of the Government Polytechnic College, Kalamassery, recently, the police have further intensified the inspections across the State.