Kerala's Operation Toofan to Follow the Money Into UPI and Crypto Wallets
Three months after Kerala launched its anti-drug enforcement drive, the State government has framed operational guidelines for Operation Toofan, which it says has already recorded considerable results. The guidelines were approved by the Home Department.
The operation was launched on June 2 with the stated aim of curbing the use and distribution of narcotic drugs among school and college students, spreading public awareness about drug abuse and supporting people dependent on substances through counselling and other services.
The framework marks a shift from targeting individual users towards dismantling the networks behind the trade. Financiers, suppliers, transporters and habitual peddlers are to be the primary targets, while those affected by substance dependence are to be offered rehabilitation pathways. The campaign combines intelligence-led enforcement with financial investigation, prevention, rehabilitation and community mobilisation.
A key element is money. Investigators will trace narcotics proceeds through bank accounts, Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions and cryptocurrency wallets in what officials describe as a “follow the money” approach. Every case involving commercial quantities is to be examined this way to identify assets acquired through the illegal trade. Bank statements, UPI trails and crypto wallets will be studied to prepare lists of allegedly illegally acquired property, and the guidelines envisage action under Section 68F of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 to freeze and confiscate proceeds of crime, including land and vehicles.
A Central Intelligence and Analytics Cell will act as the strategic core of the operation. It will collate information from seizures, dark-web activity, cryptocurrency flows and confidential tip-offs, and convert the data into actionable intelligence. The cell will maintain dossiers on the top 200 historically known drug offenders and 500 emerging offenders in the State, and send weekly “lead packets” to district police officers. Call Detail Record analysis and digital forensics will be used to map the physical and digital movements of drug syndicates.
Trafficking routes are also in focus. The campaign plans to disrupt supply lines running through coastal routes, courier and postal networks, dark-web markets, rail parcels and interstate transit corridors, including the Aluva-Angamaly rail route. Intelligence-led raids and dedicated detection teams are intended to identify and break up entire supply chains rather than only make arrests at the retail end. During special drives, police will carry out intensive inspections of ambulances and other vehicles suspected of transporting contraband.
At the ground level, “Team Toofan” units will function at sub-divisional level under the direct supervision of Sub-Divisional Police Officers. Each team has 16 personnel divided into four units. The Information Collection Team will map drug-use congregation points and keep dossiers on habitual offenders; the Detection Team will plan surprise checks and make arrests; the Investigation Assisting Team will trace financial trails, digital evidence and network diagrams of syndicates; and the Awareness Team is to hold at least 10 classes a week in schools and colleges.
Portable fingerprint scanners and GIS-based mapping of drug hotspots will also be deployed to identify habitual offenders and high-risk locations on the spot.
Alongside enforcement, the programme incorporates a public-health approach to substance dependence, under which those affected are to be linked to counselling and other support services rather than treated solely as offenders. The claim of considerable success so far is the State government’s own assessment; independently verified figures on outcomes were not provided in the material describing the guidelines.
