An intensive range-level combing operation is under way across six police districts in north Kerala to trace wanted criminals, monitor habitual offenders, and dismantle criminal networks involved in drug trafficking. Senior police officers are part of the targeted operation to ensure better coordination among various district-level squads.Police sources said the progress of the ongoing drive would be reviewed directly by the Inspector General of Police (North Zone) and the Deputy Inspector General of Police (Kannur Range). The District Anti-Narcotics Special Action Force (DANSAF) and various shadow patrol squads will support the range-level operation.The special drive follows a massive, synchronised series of flash inspections conducted across the region last week under the leadership of Kannur Range DIG K. Karthik. The range-wide operation has so far resulted in the arrest of 159 persons against whom warrants were pending and the registration of 606 criminal cases, according to District Crime Records Bureau officials here. The operation has also generated actionable intelligence for further preventive and enforcement measures.“To sustain this momentum, the police have also urged the public to lend a hand by sharing reliable information about suspected criminal activities and suspicious persons. As usual, the identities of informants will be kept confidential,” said an Assistant Commissioner of Police who is part of the special drive in Kozhikode district.He said the combing operation would cover suspicious locations in Kozhikode city, Kozhikode rural, Wayanad, Kannur city, Kannur rural, and Kasaragod.According to police sources, the first phase of the combing operation was launched last week with the specific objective of tracing all individuals listed under the Kerala Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act. It also targeted absconding suspects in various criminal cases and focused on the verification of known offenders and the strengthening of field-level preventive measures. Instructions were also issued to all squad members to conduct checks along the inter-State border.“Last week’s search was extensive as it simultaneously covered bus stands, railway station premises, hotels, lodges, homestays, and drug-trafficking hotspots across the six police districts. It will continue in the form of flash inspections,” said a Deputy Superintendent of Police from Kozhikode Rural.He said the recent arrest of more than five major drug traffickers from various suspected hotspots in rural Kozhikode demonstrated the effectiveness of the drive.Along with the special squads, traffic enforcement squads are also conducting intensive vehicle checks to detect narcotics-related offences. At present, 260 mobile patrol squads are on duty across the range. They have already intercepted around 10,000 vehicles, including nearly 1,000 inter-State vehicles, for inspection. Both commercial and public transport vehicles are under constant surveillance. Published - July 15, 2026 09:43 pm IST