Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala police on Saturday nabbed 285 individuals and filed 281 cases as part of Operation D-Hunt, an anti-drug drive aimed at exposing individuals involved in drug peddling, storage, sale and consumption, in a statewide operation.

An official statement issued on Sunday revealed several kilograms of contraband, including MDMA, ganja, hashish oil, brown sugar, and so on, which cost lakhs of rupees in the international market, were seized during the raids conducted on Saturday.

During the operation, 1,820 people suspected of being involved in drug peddling were interrogated, which resulted in the registration of 281 cases for possession of various narcotic substances, the police statement added. As many as 285 persons were arrested on various charges, it said.

Information about those suspected of participating in the sale of narcotics was gathered discreetly beforehand, and raids were conducted at their potential hideouts. The drive was carried out under the aegis of range-level NDPS coordination cell and respective district police chiefs.

State police chief DGP Sheikh Darvesh Sahib has directed officials to sustain the drive by creating a data bank of individuals frequently implicated in such crimes and constantly monitoring their activities, the statement added.
(With PTI inputs)