Thiruvananthapuram | Kerala police arrested 70 more persons in 68 cases registered across the state on Thursday as part of the anti-drug campaign 'Operation Toofan', officials said.
The latest arrests have taken the total number of people arrested under the drive to 8,346.
A statement issued by Kerala police said the total number of cases registered under the campaign had risen to 7,771 with the latest additions.
Police said 6,175.316 grams of MDMA, 700.903 kg of ganja and 690.969 grams of brown sugar had been seized since the launch of the operation.
According to the police, of the cases registered on Thursday, 18 involved possession of small quantities of narcotic substances, nine involved intermediate quantities and one involved a commercial quantity.
Besides these, 40 cases were registered under the NDPS Act and 31 under the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act, they said.
Police seized 93.096 grams of MDMA, 39.143 kg of ganja, 597 grams of hashish oil and six electronic cigarettes from those arrested.
As part of the campaign, police conducted 96 awareness programmes across the state on Thursday alone.
With this, the total number of awareness programmes conducted by the police has risen to 7,772, while 422 counselling sessions have been held so far, police said.
School and college protection groups have also organised 5,817 awareness programmes as part of the anti-drug campaign, the statement said.
The Indian Medical Association has extended full support to the 'Toofan Care' treatment and rehabilitation initiative being rolled out under the Kerala government's anti-drug campaign, 'Operation Toofan'.
An IMA delegation met Kerala Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala and discussed the proposed initiative.
The delegation comprised representatives of the IMA Mental Health Committee, IMA Prevention of Substance Abuse Committee, the Psychiatric Society and the Paediatric Association.
According to the IMA, the delegation stressed that substance abuse should be viewed not merely as a law-and-order issue but also as a public health concern requiring treatment and rehabilitation.
The home minister said the association could play a key role in the effective implementation of the 'Toofan Care' project and asked it to prepare an action plan for district-level coordination involving the police, District Medical Officers, health workers, mental health professionals and rehabilitation centres, the statement said.
The IMA said it would submit the action plan within two days.
The association said it would support efforts to ensure that people using drugs were not socially isolated but received treatment and mental health support to facilitate their reintegration into society.
IMA State President Dr M N Menon and State Secretary Dr Roy R Chandran said the successful implementation of the 'Toofan Care' initiative would require coordinated efforts by the government, doctors, mental health professionals, families, educational institutions, social organisations and local self-government bodies.
They said the IMA would extend all medical and technical support to the government's efforts to build a drug-free society.
