A country can be weakened from within if its young people fall into drug addiction. The recent large drug seizures in different parts of India, and the uncovering of drug supply networks, show that our youth are facing a serious danger. It is not only about catching huge quantities of drugs. The bigger questions are: Who is involved in this business? Where are these drugs coming from? Where are they being sent? In which parts of the country, and among which groups of people, are these drugs being used so heavily? Another worrying factor is whether today’s lifestyle showing off wealth, broken families, unemployment, or loneliness—is pushing young people towards addiction. Across the country, drug crackdowns have increased. On October 1, the biggest drug seizure in Delhi’s history took place in Mahipalpur. Police found 562 kg of cocaine and 40 kg of marijuana that had been brought from Phuket, Thailand. The international value of this consignment is about ₹5640 crore. Earlier, the largest seizure was 360 kg of cocaine.
On November 20, the Narcotics Control Bureau and the Special Cell seized 328 kg of methamphetamine from a flat in Chhattarpur, South Delhi, worth about ₹262 crore internationally. Drugs are being sent to Delhi from various countries through courier and other methods, and from there they are supplied to different states. It is becoming clear that Delhi is turning into a major transit point for drug smuggling. The Delhi drug network is also being linked to the film industry. Names of popular influencer Ori and some film personalities have come up. Under the ‘Drug Free India’ campaign, Delhi Police registered 1915 NDPS Act cases by 31 October this year, arresting 2498 smugglers and suppliers. Huge amounts of hashish, opium, marijuana, heroin, and cocaine were seized. Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar meet at the point where the Ruak and Mekong rivers join. This area is known as the Golden Triangle.
Along with Afghanistan in the Golden Crescent, it has been one of the world’s largest opium-producing regions since the 1950s. Until the early 21st century, most of the world’s heroin came from the Golden Triangle, when Afghanistan became the world’s largest producer. Due to its proximity to the Golden Triangle region, India’s people are severely affected by the large volumes of drugs flowing through the region. This problem is further compounded by the porous and poorly guarded border, which provides a favorable environment for drug traffickers. Heroin, which became prevalent in India’s northeast in the mid-1970s, became readily available in the region after 1984, and by 1990, heroin consumption in the region had seen a sharp increase. This fact is evidenced by the sharp increase in the number of addicts, which rose from less than one percent in 1990 to over 50 percent in 1991 and to 80.01 percent in 1997.
However, heroin smuggled into the Northeast is not largely for commercial sale, but primarily for local consumption. Statistics also show that heroin of Southeast Asian origin accounts for only one to two percent of the total heroin seized in the country. Furthermore, it can be argued that one reason for the low seizure of narcotics could be poor surveillance at the international border. The frequent seizures of heroin consignments by authorities in Guwahati and other cities such as Kolkata and Delhi indicate that heroin smuggling from Myanmar is on the rise. Undoubtedly, the seizure of drug consignments indicates that the Narcotics Control Bureau has increased its vigilance, but it cannot be said that its activism is discouraging drug traffickers. Their activities must be curbed, and this will only be possible when the police at the district level also take a firm stance against drug trafficking. Indeed, there is a need for increased coordination between the police and the Narcotics Control Bureau. It is good that efforts are being made to extend the coordination established between the central and state governments to the district level. Traffickers are also targeting schoolchildren in small towns. The growing trend of drug abuse is not only weakening the young generation but also affecting the country’s economy. Even more dangerous is that drug traffickers have joined forces with anti-national elements and terrorists. Clearly, drug traffickers have become a threat to national security. It cannot be ignored that the number of areas that were until recently untouched by the drug trade is increasing. Till now, the border areas of the country were generally known as the hub of drug trade, but now drugs are reaching the interior areas of the country as well. To curb the drug trade, while it is necessary for the Narcotics Control Bureau to increase its vigilance, it is also important to create awareness against drugs in the society. This message has to be conveyed among teenagers and youth that drug consumption only leads to destruction. One of the biggest challenges before us is the dark web, through which smuggling is taking place through different apps, social media sites and different social media platforms. Recently, a very big nexus has been caught which was working through the dark web.
