ECI: Poll seizures total Rs 8,889 crores; drugs make up 45%

Hyderabad: The Election Commission announced on Saturday that seizures by various enforcement agencies during the election period have amounted to Rs 8,889 crores in two months after the announcement of the polls.

Drugs seizures

The contribution of seizure of drugs is Rs 3,958 crores which is 45 per cent of total seizures. The seizures include drugs, liquor, precious metals, freebies and cash which influence elections and voting choices in varying degrees.

The commission said that it has laid special emphasis on the seizure of narcotics and psychotropic substances which resulted in the maximum number of drug seizures this election period. Analysis of data found that States/UTs which used to be transit zones are increasingly becoming consumption territories.

The agencies involved in the seizures include the Narcotics Control Bureau, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), the Indian Coast Guard, the State Police and other agencies.

With three phases more phases of polling left in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the ECI has asked the agencies to step up vigil.

Significant seizures

Gujarat ATS, the NCB and the Indian Coast Guard, in joint operations, have made three high-value seizures of drugs in three days amounting to Rs 892 crores.

Operation 1: Seizure of Rs 602 crores worth of heroin

A joint force identified and intercepted a suspected Pakistani fishing boat, ‘Alraza’ which was carrying 14 crew members, all Pakistani on Indian waters, 180 nautical miles off the coast of Porbandar, Gujarat. The joint team of Gujarat ATS and Narcotics Control Bureau (Operations), New Delhi recovered 78 boxes of contraband suspected to be heroin weighing roughly 86 kg worth nearly Rs 602 crores in the international market.

Operation 2: Seizures of Rs 230 crores worth of Mephedrone

Joint teams of Gujarat ATS and NCB (Operations) Delhi conducted simultaneous raids at Amreli and Gandhinagar in Gujarat, Sirohi and Jodhpur in Rajasthan on April 27 and seized illicit manufacturing units involved in the production of Mephedrone, a psychotropic substance under the NDPS Act.

Ten individuals have so far been detained and a total of 22 kg of Mephedrone powder and 124 litres of Mephedrone in liquid form has been seized. The total value of the seized psychotropic substance, Mephedrone is estimated to be around Rs 230 crores in the international market.

Operation 3: Seizure of Rs 60 crores worth of hashish

The Gujarat ATC, Indian Coast Guard and NCB seized 173 kg of hashish worth Rs 60.5 crores on April 29. These elections have witnessed a series of targeted actions against the menace of drugs.

Other states apart from Gujarat, Maharashtra and Delhi have also shown seizures of drugs. On April 17, the Noida police busted a drug factory in Greater Noida wherein 26.7 kg of MDMA drug valued at Rs 150 crores were seized and two persons of foreign origin were arrested. The seizures in other cohorts have equally been impressive and surpasses the entire seizures of 2019 Parliamentary Elections by a big margin.

New tech in seizures

Realtime reporting of interceptions and seizures under the Election Seizure Management System (ESMS) has resulted in quick, regular and precise reviews on expenditure monitoring. In addition, 656 expenditure observers deployed for Parliamentary Constituencies and 125 expenditure observers are also keeping a close tab on check posts, and the functioning of ground-level teams and are actively monitoring that citizens are not put to discomfort in the process of monitoring.

A close vigil is also kept in 123 Parliamentary Constituencies which are marked as expenditure-sensitive constituencies for more focused vigil.

In the first two months of the calendar year, already Rs 6760 crores worth of drugs were seized. Apart from the seizures made recently as mentioned above, the last two years have also seen huge seizures being made during the operation of the Model Code of Conduct in previously conducted Assembly Elections in the last few states.