17 October 2026
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

This IRS Officer Is Fighting Against Drugs 

Indian Masterminds Stories

Once struggling with low groundwater levels, woes of Melawas village in Rajasthan’s Pali district are now over. Thanks to the efforts of Mr. Ghanshyam Soni, an IRS officer (custom and central excise), this village can give many towns competition when it comes to development and growth. With proper roads, solar lights, CCTV cameras, and rainwater harvesting, Melawas is a model village and has won many awards for Mr. Soni. 

After fast-tracking his village development, he is on war-footing against drugs.  Mr. Soni has now been posted as Zonal Director Head, NCB, Jodhpur-Jaipur on central deputation. He might have took charge on August 15 this year but in just two months, his team has been able to damage the economy of drugs syndicate in Rajasthan. 

In conversation with Indian Masterminds, Mr. Soni shared his gratitude to be able to serve on this position. He said, ‘The responsibility is huge. I am grateful to UPSC who selected me for this position. My team is prepared to make drugs free Rajasthan.” Till now, his team has been able to do multiple seizures of drugs like heroine, Marijuana (ganja). In a combine raid by NCB and police were able to seize a truck full of more than 111 kg in opium poppy seeds near Jahajpur (Pali, Rajasthan). 

SEIZING OVER Rs 200 Cr PROPERTY 

In a move to economically damage the syndicate, Mr. Soni has started a combined training program. Along with NCB, several other police department are being trained under Section 68F of the Indian Penal Code NDPS act  to seize the property of the criminals caught in commercial frauds including drugs. 

“The first session was held on Jodhpur police academy in which 260 RPS officer took part. Now, several departments who work under NDPS have been given training online & offline too”, Mr. Soni. 

This step has helped to fight the drugs syndicate. The bank account, house, house, shop, shares, agricultural land, own property and property of relatives and associates of more than 35 people have been seized worth more than 200 crores rupees. 

FROM ACROSS THE BORDER 

A racket has been busted which used to order Marijuana from Amazon. The main accused was from Surat and was using ID and address of others to get the delivery. “Only control delivery of such items are permissible and in monitoring of custom & NCB. This racket was fooling innocent people and using their id & address to place the order”, said the officer. 

Besides this, the monitoring of drugs coming from across the border has also increased. In Ganganagar, several case were detected where drugs were sent here through drone. The NCB team under Mr. Soni’s leadership has now been able to control that too. In one raid, heroine worth of more than 4.5 crore were seized. 


Indian Masterminds Stories
Join our WhatsApp Channel
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Related Stories
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
NEWS
Google-Adani Vizag Data Centre
Why The ₹17,700 Crore Google-Adani Vizag Data Centre Is Facing NGT Scrutiny
IAF GSAT-7C Satellite Deal
IAF GSAT-7C Satellite Deal: 5 Ways It Could Strengthen the Indian Air Force
Karnataka Illegal Immigration
Karnataka Illegal Immigration: Karnataka High Court Gives State 3 Months To Act
Senior Advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan
Why Senior Advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan Withdrew From 7 Delhi Protest Cases in Supreme Court
Aditya L1
How Aditya-L1 and Proba-3 Are Helping Scientists Understand Solar Storms
India norway
India-EFTA Summit 2026: $100 Billion Investment Target Explained
Project Seabird Phase IIA
Project Seabird Phase IIA: Indian Navy Expands Karwar Base with 300 Homes, 409-Bed Hospital
Indian Navy Seychelles Visit
Indian Navy Seychelles Visit: INS Tir And Other Ships Complete Mission
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Videos
Dr Saket Badola IFS
Beyond Tigers and Safaris: How Corbett Literature Festival Wants to Change the Conservation Conversation
PK Jena
Why Technology Cannot Replace Human Connection in Governance: P.K. Jena
PK Jena
The IAS Officer Who Put People Before Paperwork: How PK Jena Challenged Corruption and Reformed Governance
ADVERTISEMENT
UPSC Stories
Umar Janj UPSC CAPF
15+ Failures Couldn’t Stop Him: Umar Janj Secures AIR 160 in UPSC CAPF 2025
After multiple SSB setbacks, a CAPF interview miss by 12 marks and more than 15 failures, Umar Janj secured...
Aayush Sharma
Three CDS Attempts, Five AFCAT Qualifications & Medical Setback: How Aayush Sharma Secured CAPF AIR 135
After three unsuccessful SSB attempts, five AFCAT qualifications and a medical setback, Aayush Sharma...
Tushar Chaudhary IRMS
He Left Intel, Built COPAL-19, Spent Months at AIIMS, Ran Half Marathons, and Returned to UPSC—Tushar Chaudhary’s Journey to IRMS
UPSC ESE AIR 4 Tushar Chaudhary left a ₹25 LPA Intel job, built COPAL-19, spent months at AIIMS, ran...
CSR NEWS
NBCC India CSR Award 2026
NBCC India Wins Award for Excellence in CSR at 4th Fortune Leadership Awards 2026
The recognition honours NBCC’s community welfare initiatives and efforts to improve healthcare accessibility...
HURL ALIMCO
HURL Signs MoU with ALIMCO to Support Divyangjans and Senior Citizens in Gorakhpur, Barauni and Sindri
Under its CSR initiative, HURL will support PMD-VK Gorakhpur and facilitate the distribution of need-based...
MDL CSR Support to Divyasha Vayoshri Kendra
MDL Extends ₹3.79 Crore CSR Support to Divyasha Vayoshri Kendra in Mumbai
The initiative will strengthen access to assistive devices, prosthetics and rehabilitation services for...
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Latest
Google-Adani Vizag Data Centre
Why The ₹17,700 Crore Google-Adani Vizag Data Centre Is Facing NGT Scrutiny
IAF GSAT-7C Satellite Deal
IAF GSAT-7C Satellite Deal: 5 Ways It Could Strengthen the Indian Air Force
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Videos
Dr Saket Badola IFS
PK Jena
PK Jena
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT