However, a new kind of menace has started to pose a fresh challenge to Punjab’s law enforcement — pharmaceutical drugs being smuggled in from other states. Because of the stemming of cross-border smuggling, according to the state government, chandigarh: The availability of heroin on Punjab streets has been reduced.
With heroin availability falling, Punjab Police claims the pattern of drug consumption and supply is changing. Pharmaceutical narcotics have now emerged as the state’s biggest drug enforcement challenge.
The Punjab government is now taking up the issue with the concerned states, seeking tighter regulation of pharmaceutical manufacturing units and stricter monitoring of sales, purchases and transportation to prevent diversion of medicines into Punjab. The crackdown, according to the government, has resulted in 486 drones being recovered, nearly 80,000 arrests since March 2025 and properties worth over Rs 336 crore being frozen to disrupt the financial networks of drug syndicates. The government claims around 80% of pharmaceutical drugs reaching Punjab are being smuggled from Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana and Delhi, with some consignments also linked to Himachal Pradesh. Since 2025, police say 11.54 lakh pharmaceutical tablets and capsules have been recovered from consignments linked to other states.
In effect, Punjab’s drug war is entering a new phase: the government says the Pakistan-border supply of heroin is being choked, but pharmaceutical drugs from neighbouring and other states are now emerging as the next major front.
