Editorial: War on drugs

In the past one year, over 3,600 kg of drugs have been seized from freight containers across several ports in the country

The drug menace not only destroys individual lives and their families but also poses a serious threat to national security. The profits from narcotic trafficking are being used to finance terrorism, thereby weakening the economy. India’s location in the middle of the two largest sources of illicit drugs in South Asia — Golden Crescent (Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iran) on the northwest and the infamous Golden Triangle (Myanmar, Thailand, and Laos) on the northeast — makes it more vulnerable to the trafficking of narcotics and drugs. The NDA government’s much-touted zero tolerance policy on drug menace must be made visible on the ground. union Home Minister Amit Shah, who recently told Parliament that the big criminals involved in narcotic trafficking would be put behind bars in the next two years, must walk the talk and deliver on his promise. Despite the Border Security Force (BSF) stepping up vigil near the India-Pakistan border in Punjab, the frequent seizures don’t seem to be deterring drug traffickers. There are reports that the illicit drug trade continues to flourish in Afghanistan under the Taliban regime, which had promised a crackdown on narcotics after it grabbed power in August last year. India has proactively used multilateral platforms this year to push for a joint fight against terror funding. International cooperation is needed to punish the countries that aid and abet narco terror. State-of-the-art counter-drone technology must be deployed to block the aerial route of drug supply.

While waging an all-out war on drug trade, the government agencies need to differentiate between users, who must be treated as victims, and peddlers, who should not be spared. Similar sensitivity needs to be adopted by law enforcement authorities while applying the harsh provisions of India’s anti-narcotics law, where the burden of proof is often effectively shifted on to the accused and bail is sparingly given. Studies show that people arrested for personal consumption constitute the bulk of those behind bars and many of them are from marginalised backgrounds. Drug trafficking is a major transnational organised crime with the potential to undermine national security. The growing nexus between drug smugglers and terrorist groups is a matter of concern for countries like India. Such complex security concerns can be dealt with a comprehensive review of the surveillance mechanisms along with effective coordination between the Centre and the States. The emerging trend of international criminal syndicates using the containerised trade networks for trafficking drugs has posed a major challenge to the enforcement agencies in India and other countries in the region. In the past one year, over 3,600 kg of drugs have been seized from freight containers across several ports in the country. Apart from a more efficient coordination among various government agencies, real-time data on shipments is essential to develop an artificial intelligence-based algorithm for zeroing in on suspect consignments.

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