Home Minister Amit Shah Virtually Inaugurates NCB Bhubaneswar Zonal Office

Bhubaneswar: Union Home Minister Amit Shah inaugurated the newly-constructed office building of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) in Bhubaneswar on Monday.

Shah also took part in the destruction of more than 1.4 lakh kg of narcotics worth Rs. 2,378 crore in different parts of the country by the NCB in coordination with the Anti Narcotics Task Force (ANTF) of all states.

This is the highest quantity of drugs destroyed in a single day.

Shah said that the government’s approach to drugs is on supply reduction through intelligence gathering and rewarding suitable informants.

He also said that the NCB Bhubaneswar zonal unit has been upgraded into a full-fledged independent zone that will cover the entire Odisha.

The staff strength, which was only 15, will be increased to 100 in the coming phases.

NCB Bhubaneswar Zonal Director Rajesh Shukla said that the NCB is a coordinating and nodal agency and works with other agencies like BSF, RPF, State police and excise among others.

He said that the NCB has been working to destroy cannabis cultivation and check on drug smuggling in border areas in Odisha.

Shukla also said that several cases have also come to the fore where drug smugglers are targeting youths who are soft targets.