: Tuesday, October 14, 2025 7:45 PM
Chandigarh. Punjab Government has set a new example of good governance to realize the dream of ‘Drug-Free Punjab’. Taking a strong stance on drug smuggling and criminal activities prevalent in jails, a historic decision was taken in the Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Monday, 13 October 2025 – approval of deployment of six specially trained sniffer dogs in six major central jails of the state under the ‘War Against Drugs’ campaign. OSD to CM Amanjot Singh said that these ‘Super Sniffers’ breed of Labrador Retrievers will be procured from the special canine program of the Border Security Force (BSF) and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), which can sniff out the smell of heroin, opium derivatives, local ‘Lahan’, mobile phones, drones and other contraband to root out smuggling. Will finish. This will strengthen the security of jails, increase body-baggage searches of visitors, surprise inspections and break the drug addiction among prisoners. Drug dealers will tremble – this is a milestone in the direction of ‘Drug-Free Punjab’! Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema said, “These sniffer dogs will detect the supply of drugs in jails in the ‘War on Drugs’ campaign. Each dog is specially trained for this purpose, so that the roots of crime are cut like a ‘force multiplier’ and the ‘Zero Tolerance for Drugs’ policy is fully implemented. Recent prison searches revealed that 15 of the 24 prisons in the state had active drug trafficking networks, and more than 42% of the prisoners were lodged under the NDPS Act. With the connivance of the jail staff, opiates, heroin derivatives and local liquor were entering through drones, mobile phones, visitors and packages. Now these dogs will be deployed in major jails like Ludhiana, Amritsar, Patiala, Nabha, Bathinda. “These will take the prisoners on the path of reformation,” said a senior officer.
OSD to CM Amanjot Singh said that to make the procurement process fast and transparent, special exemption was given under Section 63(1) of the Punjab Transparency in Public Procurement Act, 2019. The base price of each dog is Rs 2.5 lakh, but the total including duty-ready training and equipment is Rs 15 lakh per dog (total smart investment of Rs 90 lakh). Additional intensive training will take place with jail staff at the Phillaur Punjab Police Academy, where a successful canine program is already running.
OSD to CM Amanjot Singh said that this is not the first step – earlier, two sniffer dogs of the Excise Department had exposed several cases of illegal smuggling, and the existing canine units of the Jail Department have given ‘commandable service’ in stopping mobile phone smuggling. The new team will supercharge the old units. 25 jail officers were suspended as part of the ‘War Against Drugs’ campaign. Last year, Punjab Police recovered over 1,100 kg of heroin (total 1,129 kg in 2024), and recorded a 25% reduction in NDPS cases (9,025 cases reduced).
The jail reform campaign will achieve the goal of ‘Drug-Free Punjab’. Message of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann – “Strictness on drugs is not just a campaign of the police but of the entire society. ‘War against drugs’ will lead to ‘Drug-free Punjab’. If jails improve, Punjab will improve.” Every youth of Punjab should be free from the trap of drugs and fulfill their dreams.” His thinking is making deep inroads among the public. People are appreciating this initiative on social media. One user wrote, “Sniffer dogs are the roar of security in jails! Bhagwant Mann government proved that anything is possible with good governance.” It is being called a ‘security game changer’.
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Web Title-Punjab jails to be guarded by sniffer supercops: Government takes historic decision to root out drug menace in prisons