Overview
- Kerala ordered and activated the Anti‑Narcotic Investigation Team on September 18, 2026, with three units based in Thiruvananthapuram, Ernakulam and Kozhikode under IG Putta Vimaladitya.
- The team is tasked with moving probes beyond arrests and seizures to identify masterminds, supply sources and financial backers for high‑value drug networks.
- Operation Toofan has recorded 10,918 cases and 11,776 arrests so far and produced large seizures including a 13 kg MDMA haul linked to interstate trafficking.
- Investigators say suspects used secret hideouts and avoided mobile phones, prompting coordinated searches and arrests in Delhi, Noida, Kolkata, Bihar and Chennai.
- Phase II of Operation Toofan will formally begin on September 28 and shift emphasis to demand reduction, Toofan Janajagratha ward committees, hospital‑led rehabilitation and a help app supported by Amrita University.