Rising tide of drug trafficking threatens India'

New Delhi, Dec 31 (IANS) In what poses a severe threat to the nation's well-being, India finds itself caught in the crossfire of the global narcotics trade. The influx of heroin and methamphetamine, orchestrated by drug lords with alleged intelligence support, is not only fuelling addiction but also funding disruptive activities with implications for national security.

Positioned between the notorious Death (Golden) Crescent and Death (Golden) Triangle, India is grappling with a surge in drug smuggling from these regions. These areas, encompassing Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan, contribute to nearly 90 per cent of the world's demand for heroin and methamphetamine, making India both a lucrative market and a transit route.

Pakistan, situated strategically on the "Golden Crescent," serves as a significant source of narcotics for the region. Its porous borders and lax law enforcement create an environment conducive to drug trafficking, with Tamil Nadu and Kerala emerging as major hotspots due to their expansive coastlines and key ports facilitating maritime trade.

On the flip side, the Golden Crescent's global opium production, spanning Afghanistan, Iran, and Pakistan, funnels drugs into India through vulnerable regions like Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan, and Gujarat. Exploiting these routes, drug smugglers are now employing sophisticated tools such as digital platforms and drones to evade the authorities.

The evolving landscape of drug trafficking includes the adoption of new-age tactics like dark web transactions and cryptocurrency use. Recent arrests by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) unveiled a pan-India drug trafficking network operating on the 'darknet.'

The syndicate, comprised of individuals with diverse professional backgrounds, utilised couriers and postal services to discreetly deliver narcotics sourced globally.

Despite the Indian government's intensified efforts, with agencies like the Border Security Force conducting anti-drug operations along the border, the drug trade persists. Its impact is not only confined to public health concerns, as drug addiction takes a toll on individuals, but it also contributes to violent crime, corruption, and destabilisation of regions, with traffickers often funding terrorist activities.

Gurmeet Nehra, a research scholar at the Indian Law Institute, emphasizes the need for a comprehensive approach addressing both law enforcement measures and the underlying social and economic factors contributing to drug production and trafficking.

This year, the Special Cell of the Delhi Police had arrested three Punjab residents from Sarai Kale Khan in Delhi, for being a part of a drug nexus from Pakistan.

The accused were supplying drugs trafficked from Pakistan via drones in Punjab and other states.

The trio identified as Dharmendra Singh, a resident of Amritsar, Malkit Singh and Harpal Singh, both residents of Tarn Taran in Punjab are now lodged in a Punjab prison.

Sources said that they were taking drugs from a peddler sitting across the border and working at the behest of Pakistan’s secret agency ISI.

According to the police, the trio, who even had links with Indian fugitives now based in the Philippines and the United States of America, were supplying drugs in Punjab and other states since 2011 and the money earned from selling the drugs was transferred through a hawala network from drug mafias to Pakistan.

It is suspected that the arrested accused were working through middlemen, whom the police are tracing.

“We have also found USA and Philippines contact numbers when we scanned their phones. It seems that the number belongs to the person giving direction to them. We are even trying to find if they have links with Harwinder Singh Rinda, who was the mastermind in the rocket propelled grenade (RPG) attack on the Punjab Police Intelligence Headquarters in May last year,” said the sources.