Malappuram (Keralam) | Keralam's anti-drug campaign 'Operation Toofan' has entered a crucial phase, with the government stepping up its crackdown on the drug mafia while simultaneously expanding treatment and rehabilitation facilities for people battling addiction, state Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala said on Monday.

The second phase of the campaign, which has evolved into a people's movement against drugs, will combine continued police action against those involved in the drug trade with efforts to identify, treat and rehabilitate drug users, he said.

Speaking to PTI on the sidelines of the launch of Operation Toofan 2.0, Chennithala said the campaign had received support from different sections of society and political parties and that people's cooperation had strengthened the fight against the drug menace.

"Operation Toofan has now become a very popular project. The people have taken it up as their own programme. It has become a people's movement against the drug menace," he said.

In the second phase of the drive, the Home and Local Self Government departments will be working together to take the initiative forward The minister said the government would continue its action against the drug mafia while giving equal importance to those who had fallen victim to drug addiction.

"We have three phases. One is the police taking action and putting the offenders in jail. Number two is to find (those affected). Number three is to provide care. We want to rehabilitate the people who were actually using drugs," he said.

More than 100 people have already been admitted to different hospitals for treatment, while 35 hospitals have come forward to cooperate with the government, he said.

"These hospitals will have separate wards for treating these people. The addiction centres will also be started," Chennithala said.

The government has also convened a meeting of major private hospitals in the state to expand the treatment network, with both private and government hospitals expected to participate in the programme.

"We are going to do this programme in a big way with the cooperation of private and government hospitals," he said.

At the enforcement end, Chennithala said the police were continuing to target those involved in the supply of drugs, including people operating from outside the state.

He claimed that the drug menace had come down by around 30 per cent following the campaign.

"The people are cooperating and the drug mafia is afraid of the people. The level of the drug menace has come down by 30 per cent," he said.

Chennithala said the campaign had also attracted interest from outside Keralam, with institutions and ministers from other countries expressing interest in adopting a similar model.

"Ministers from Bhutan have spoken to me. They wanted to implement this programme in their country also," he said.

The minister said the Centre should provide greater financial and institutional support to Keralam's efforts.

"We will be asking for more funds from the Centre for combating this," he said.

Chennithala said the government would continue Operation Toofan with the support of the people.

"Everybody is now supporting this, cutting across party lines. We will continue with the programme," he said.

As part of Operation Toofan, 12,584 people have been arrested from various parts of the state till September 26 after the drive was launched on June 2.

The project was launched by Chennithala soon after he assumed office as Home Minister to curb drug abuse and peddling, which have been major concerns for the state.

According to police data, the number of cases taken up as part of Operation Toofan reached 11,677.

So far, over 24 kilograms of MDMA, 1571.9 kg of cannabis, 5721.372 grams of hashish oil and 615.647 grams of heroin have been seized as part of the anti-drug drive.

The total number of awareness classes conducted so far by the police is 10,295, and the number of counselling sessions is 846, police said.