Lahore: Punjab Counter Narcotics Force (CNF) has launched a province-wide crackdown against the illegal sale of narcotics and intoxicating products in markets and shops located in and around educational institutions and religious seminaries.
During the crackdown, CNF teams, in coordination with district administrations in various cities, conducted raids at different shops, inspected suspicious products and confiscated items whose sale near educational institutions had been prohibited under the law.
The CNF and district administrations had also ordered the sealing of shops found violating relevant laws and regulations.
Earlier, directors of the CNF visited various educational institutions and met with school and seminary administrations. They urged the administrations to closely monitor students’ activities and immediately report any presence or sale of narcotics and intoxicating products in the vicinity of educational institutions to the CNF helpline 1012.
The force also organised lectures and awareness seminars in Murree to educate students about the harmful effects of narcotics and intoxicating products.
According to a CNF spokesperson, similar operations were being conducted across the province to protect students from the menace of drugs. He said discouraging the use of products that could gradually lead young people towards narcotics was essential to preventing drug abuse.
The spokesperson said raising awareness about the harmful and devastating effects of narcotics was also a key component of an effective anti-narcotics strategy.
He stressed that parents and teachers had a fundamental role in protecting students from drugs. Parents at home and teachers at educational institutions could help safeguard students by closely monitoring their activities and identifying signs that might expose them to the risk of drug use.
The spokesperson said operations against drug peddlers and the illegal sale of narcotics and intoxicating products in and around educational institutions and religious seminaries would continue across Punjab.
He urged citizens to cooperate with law-enforcement agencies and immediately report the illegal sale of narcotics, intoxicating medicines and other prohibited products to the Punjab Counter Narcotics Force helpline 1012.
