BENGALURU, 4 AUG

The State government has ordered the formation of an Anti-Narcotic Task Force (ANTF) to enhance its efforts against drug-related crimes.

According to an official order issued on 1 August, the newly established ANTF unit will function under the overall supervision of the Director General and Inspector General of Police (DG & IGP) and the team will report to the Additional Director General of Police, Cyber Command.

The unit will have 10 newly created posts, which includes two Additional Superintendents of Police, two Assistant Commissioners of Police to supervise cases related to narcotics. Additionally, 56 posts from the Anti-Naxal Force (ANF) will be reallocated to the Anti-Narcotic Task Force, including two police inspectors and four police sub-inspectors.

The unit will also engage experts on an outsourced basis, including forensic and legal experts, and data analysts.

The ANTF is being set up with an estimated recurring annual expenditure of approximately Rs 2.77 crore for the newly sanctioned roles.

Home Minister G Parameshwara said the ANTF will function like a task force. "They act based on wherever the information comes from. We have already given specific instructions to every Superintendent of Police,” he told reporters here.

He said that to make it even stronger, personnel from the Anti-Naxal Force have been transferred to ANTF.