# Anti-drug drive Toofan fills Kerala jails beyond capacity 2026-08-17T02:30:32+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet Kerala's Operation Toofan, the UDF government's anti-drug campaign launched on June 2, has led to nearly 10,000 arrests. But the crackdown is straining overcrowded prisons, with 1,005 people remanded to judicial custody between June 2 and July 23. Official data shows the state's jails hold 9,979 inmates against a capacity of 7,416. Poojappura central prison in Thiruvananthapuram houses 1,580 inmates in space meant for 727. Kannur and Thavanur central prisons also exceed capacity. A prisons official told New Indian Express authorities were controlling the situation but faced issues, especially in Thiruvananthapuram zone. A retired prisons department officer said construction of new prisons was the only lasting solution, with temporary transfers insufficient to handle the rising inmate numbers. ## Coverage - newindianexpress.com This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above. Tags: Kerala prisons, Operation Toofan, Poojappura central prison, Thiruvananthapuram, UDF Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/anti-drug-drive-toofan-fills-kerala-jails-beyond-capacity/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/anti-drug-drive-toofan-fills-kerala-jails-beyond-capacity/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes. How this brief was made: an AI model read the report linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/