Thiruvananthapuram, 19 Oct (H.S.):

Kerala Police registered cases against 6,199 people for driving under the influence of alcohol during a statewide special enforcement drive conducted between October 13 and 17.

The inspections began at 7 am on October 13 and continued until 7 am on October 17, following directions from Additional Director General of Police, Law and Order, P. Vijayan.

Police units carried out the coordinated operation under the supervision of zonal Inspectors General, range Deputy Inspectors General and district police chiefs.

Ernakulam Rural recorded the highest number of cases at 710, followed by Thiruvananthapuram Rural with 497 and Kottayam with 456. Kasaragod registered the lowest number, with 75 cases.

Vijayan said driving under the influence remained a major contributor to road accidents and fatalities. Vehicle inspections would continue in the coming days, he added.

Meanwhile, police said arrests under the ongoing anti-drug crackdown, Operation Thoofan, had reached 14,308 across Kerala. Another 144 people were arrested in 139 cases during the latest reporting period, taking the cumulative number of cases to 13,270.

Seizures under the operation so far include 27,264.012 grams of MDMA, 1,796.307 kilograms of ganja, 664.846 grams of heroin, 7,238.972 grams of hashish oil and 777.159 grams of brown sugar.

Of the latest 139 drug cases, 79 involved possession of small quantities, 14 involved intermediate quantities and two involved commercial quantities. Another 44 cases were registered under Section 27 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act.

Police also registered 99 cases under the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act during the reporting period.

The latest seizures included 142.096 grams of MDMA, 14.030 kilograms of ganja, 13.74 grams of heroin, 488 grams of hashish oil and one gram of brown sugar.

The figures cover separate enforcement efforts targeting drink driving, narcotics offences and violations of tobacco control legislation across the state.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Arun Lakshman