FM Nirmala Sitharaman to oversee destruction of 42,000 kg narcotics

New Delhi, Jun 7: The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) will be destroying narcotics at 14 locations across the country on Wednesday, the Ministry of Finance said on Tuesday.

"The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) would be conducting a Drug Destruction Day tomorrow ( 08.06.2022) as apart of Iconic Week of "Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav" (AKAM) celebrations of Ministry of Finance to mark the 75th year of Indian independence," a state from Ministry of Finance said.

A total of around 42,000 kg narcotics would be destroyed at 14 locations across the country.

The Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman would be virtually witnessing the destruction process to be held at Guwahati, Lucknow, Mumbai, Mundra/Kandla, Patna and Siliguri and would be addressing the officers, the statement said.

Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav is an initiative of the Government of India to celebrate and commemorate 75 years of independence and the glorious history of it's people, culture and achievements.

Over 2,300 people died due to drug overdose from 2017-19 in India with the highest number of such fatalities recorded in the age group of 30-45 years, according to the data by the National Crime Records Bureau. A total of 745 deaths due to drug overdose were recorded in 2017, 875 deaths in 2018 and 704 deaths in 2019, it stated.

The estimated number of lives lost in India was 22,000, as per the global drug trafficking trade, according to Global Burden of Disease Study.