In a sweeping crackdown on narco-offenders and organized crime, the Delhi Police launched Operation Kavach 8.0, executing coordinated raids across 1,040 locations spanning all 15 police districts. The 24-hour operation, which began at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, was spearheaded by the Crime Branch and Special Cell, officials confirmed.
According to the Special Commissioner of Police (Crime), the drive resulted in the arrest of 139 individuals involved in 133 cases registered under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. The police recovered a range of banned substances, including 90.3 grams of heroin, 25.9 kilograms of ganja, 3.32 grams of cocaine, 4.63 grams of MDMA, 20.08 grams of amphetamine, and 12 buprenorphine tablets.
The crackdown extended beyond narcotics. In 217 cases under the Delhi Excise Act, 224 individuals were arrested, and large quantities of illicit liquor were seized—47,476 quarters of country-made liquor, 125 beer bottles, and 158 cans. In addition, 30 people were apprehended under the Arms Act, with police confiscating eight pistols, seven live cartridges, three magazines, and 23 knives.
Further actions included the arrest of 55 individuals under the Gambling Act, with ₹25,592 in cash recovered. Police also took 5,682 individuals into preventive custody. Under the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA), 2,031 violators were prosecuted and one person arrested. The seizures included 469 e-cigarettes and approximately 1.71 lakh banned foreign cigarettes, totaling 8.56 packets.
Among the key arrests was 18-year-old Ekanjot Singh Sandhu from Punjab, from whom four semi-automatic pistols and three magazines were recovered. Another suspect, Sachin alias Hemu (26), was arrested at the Delhi University Metro Station with a country-made pistol and four live cartridges.
Significant recoveries were also made during separate raids: 7,550 quarters of illicit liquor were found in a tempo at Mundka, 10,000 quarters from a mini-van in Madipur, 1.48 lakh foreign cigarettes seized from a godown in Old Delhi, and 469 e-cigarettes recovered from a paan shop in Safdarjung Enclave.
The operation marks one of Delhi Police’s most comprehensive enforcement actions in recent times, targeting a broad spectrum of criminal activity across the capital.
