Chandigarh, April 4 Enforcement agencies are focusing on building legally robust cases that ensure drug traffickers are not just caught, but punished in Punjab, according to a statement on Saturday.
They said the ongoing anti-drug drive, 'Yudh Nashean Virudh', is increasingly being defined not merely by arrests, but by a sharp rise in convictions that are standing firm in courts, signalling a decisive shift in the state's strategy against narcotics.
Police officials attribute Punjab's conviction rate of 88 per cent in cases under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, the highest in the country, to a systematic transformation in policing.
"This includes prosecution-led investigations, scientific evidence collection, financial tracking of drug networks, and technology-driven intelligence gathering," an official statement said.
According to official data, a total of 3,870 convictions were secured out of 4,812 NDPS cases decided by courts in 2022, reflecting a conviction rate of 80 per cent.
This rose to 81 per cent in 2023 with 5,635 convictions out of 6,976 cases, and further to 85 per cent in 2024 with 6,219 convictions out of 7,281 cases.
In 2025, the conviction rate reached 88 per cent with 6,488 convictions out of 7,373 cases, it said.
In 2026, 1,634 convictions have already been secured out of 1,831 NDPS cases decided so far, pushing the conviction rate to 89 per cent, the highest in the country.
These outcomes are being driven by 'Yudh Nashean Virudh', which has provided strong policy direction and institutional backing to enforcement agencies, ensuring that anti-drug efforts move beyond seizures and arrests to securing time-bound convictions.
Police officials highlighted that the key to this success lies in a fundamental shift in policing philosophy.
"The objective is not just to arrest traffickers but to make sure that they get jailed too. Our investigations are now designed to meet the highest legal standards so that cases stand strong during trial," a senior Punjab Police officer said.
Every step, from drug seizure to documentation and forensic examination, is carried out in strict compliance with NDPS procedures so that traffickers cannot escape merely on technical grounds, said the official.
The high conviction rate is the result of multiple systemic interventions, including structured and systematic training programmes, exposure of investigating officers to best practices, implementation of a detailed Standard Operating Procedure with a 60-point investigation checklist, and the appointment of Trial Special Officers to effectively manage cases in courts, they said.
A significant institutional collaboration has also been established with Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law, Patiala, where all investigating officers undergo a mandatory six-day certification training.
Over 400 investigating officers have already been trained at the university, strengthening the quality of investigations, they said.
While thousands of NDPS cases are registered every year and tens of thousands of traffickers are arrested, officials stressed that enforcement numbers alone do not define success.
"The real deterrence is conviction certainty. When traffickers realise that arrest will almost certainly lead to conviction and loss of assets, it creates a strong message that drug crime will not go unpunished," the officials added.