Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday said the fight against drugs is to ensure that no youth is under the influence of narcotics and the country is safe and free from illegal substances.

Shah said this at a conference on “Drugs Smuggling and National Security” during which he watched through video conferencing destruction of more than 1.40 lakh kg drugs worth Rs 2,381 crore in various parts of the country.

“Our aim is to ensure that no youth is under the influence of drugs…. Our aim is to make the country drugs free and secure. I appeal to all chief ministers and LGs (lieutenant governors) to extend all possible cooperation for it,” he said.

The home minister said that in the last one year 10 lakh kg drugs worth Rs 12,000 crore were destroyed and it is a very significant achievement.

“Many congratulations to all the people involved in fulfilling such a big goal in the Azadi ki Amrit Mahotsav,” he said.

He said when the state and central governments along with all the agencies come together on a single platform then only “we will be able to make the country free from drugs”.

“We will be able to succeed in this campaign against drugs by following ‘whole of government approach’ with cooperation, coordination, collaboration,” he said.

Shah said till the financial chain of drug smugglers are not broken, the fight against drugs is not completed.

He said that earlier the main area of drug smuggling was called ‘Golden Triangle’ and ‘Golden Crescent’ but the Government of India has proposed internationally that it should be named as ‘Death Triangle’ and ‘Death Crescent’. “This approach shows the direction and intensity of our fight against drugs,” he said.

The home minister said there is no question of a single destination for elimination of drugs or a single target for it.

“It is an act of constant vigilance. A moment’s laxity can spoil the entire movement,” he said.

The destruction of the narcotics, the bulk of it from Madhya Pradesh, was carried out in different cities as Shah watched through video conferencing from New Delhi.

The drugs destroyed include 6,590 kg seized by the Narcotics Control Bureau’s (NCB) Hyderabad unit, 822 kg seized by the Indore unit and 356 kg by the Jammu unit, officials said.

Besides, various law enforcement agencies from different states also destroyed drugs — 1,03,884 (1.03 lakh) kg in Madhya Pradesh, 1,486 kg in Assam, 229 kg in Chandigarh, 25 kg in Goa, 4,277 kg in Gujarat, 2,458 kg in Haryana, 4,069 kg in Jammu and Kashmir, 159 kg in Maharashtra, 1,803 kg in Tripura and 4,049 kg in Uttar Pradesh.

With the destruction of drugs on Monday, the total quantity of drugs destroyed in just one year has reached around 10 lakh kilogram with a value of Rs 12,000 crore.

From June 1, 2022 to July 15, 2023, regional units of the NCB and anti narcotics task forces of the states collectively destroyed around 8,76,554 (8.76 lakh) kg seized drugs worth around Rs 9,580 crore which is more than 11 times the target.