Kerala Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala said the state police have arrested around 7,000 people, registered 6,500 cases and seized narcotic substances worth around ₹70 crore in the 44 days since the launch of Operation Toofan, the state's anti-drug campaign.

Addressing the Mega Operation Toofan campaign in Perinthalmanna, Malappuram, the minister also said the government had confiscated 15 properties allegedly acquired through drug trafficking.

Chennithala announced that the Kerala Police would establish a permanent anti-drug mechanism to strengthen its fight against narcotics. Dedicated anti-drug units will be set up in all 20 police districts, he said, adding that Operation Toofan would continue until the drug mafia is eradicated from the state.

"Few campaigns in recent years have received the kind of public support that Operation Toofan has. Conferences, rallies, cultural programmes and awareness classes are being held across Kerala. Our aim is to free the younger generation from the grip of drugs. Mothers and sisters have taken the lead in this movement," he said.

The police remain on constant vigil against the drug mafia, and Kerala will never surrender to it. Earlier, people feared drug cartels. Today, it is the mafia that fears the people. The campaign has also inspired similar initiatives in other southern states," the minister added.

MLA Najeeb Kanthapuram, who presided over the event, said 2,300 volunteers would work in Perinthalmanna over the next year as part of the anti-drug campaign to build a drug-free community through sustained awareness and public participation.

Operation Toofan: The Narco Hunt is a statewide anti-narcotics campaign launched by the UDF-led Kerala government to curb drug trafficking and substance abuse through intensified enforcement, public awareness and community participation.