There is no gainsay to point out that transnational syndicates operate pushing the drug menace and trade.
Prior to the coup in Myanmar, there were certain mechanisms in place to work against drugs with Indian agencies, but obviously since 2021, these have virtually failed.
From 2021-22, various central and state agencies in the north east India have found that there has been a shift in drug trade from cannabis to synthetic drugs like yaba tablets throughout the region and also in some other parts of the country.
The state of Tripura became a major transit route.
Speaking on the second day of the Winter Session of the Tripura Assembly, earlier this month, Chief Minister Manik Saha said that Union Home Minister Amit Shah has directed to adopt zero tolerance policy against drug peddling and any kind of drug menace.
He also said that during the past three years, 1,665 cases were registered under the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act 1985 and 2697 drug peddlers were arrested.
During the last three years, drugs, including destruction of huge numbers of ganja (marijuana) plantations valued at Rs 1,587.47 crore were seized by the law-enforcing agencies.
With the menace of various drugs, the number of HIV/AIDS affected people rose to 10,126 in 2023 from 7,707 people in 2021.
"Since 2015, at least 512 people have died after becoming affected by HIV/AIDS,” the Chief Minister informed the assembly.
In October 2022, the Tripura Chief Minister had requested the centre for setting up a branch of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) in the state. In fact, it had come to light that besides Tripura, the two other states Assam and Mizoram were/are being used as a corridor to smuggle drugs into the country by drug traffickers in Myanmar.
The narcotics substance were also being sent to Bangladesh and even rest of India.
In the north of India, it was reported in 2022 that the Israeli, Russian and Italian mafia exist in Manali and Dharamsala in Himachal Pradesh and run drug business through various means.
However, security forces and especially Assam Rifles in coordination with multiple agencies successfully carried out operations to seize contraband items including Ganja/Marjuna.
Sources say foreign imported cigarettes and Yaba tablets worth Rs 342 crore were recovered in various operations by Assam Rifles alone.
Last week (Jan 2025) analysts have expressed concern over the fact that proliferation of drug peddling and consumption in Tripura and a few other notheastern states seems to be spiraling.
Assam Rifles officers and personnel seized a massive haul of contraband ‘Yaba’ tablets from the Shalbagan area.
Acting on a tip-off a detachment of the force seized a stock of 60 thousand ‘Yaba’ tablets that cost Rs 12 crores in the black market.
Last year, sources say, over three lakh ganja plants in illegal plantation were destroyed in Naljala area under Kalamcharra police station.
The cost of ganja destroyed was over Rs 30 crore. Social workers in Assam's Guwahati and Agartala in Tripura say while drugs of third/fourth quality are marketed and 'abused' in Manipur, Tripura, Mizoram and other northeastern states; the 'better quality' stuff is marketed in big cities and metros such as Delhi and adjoining hubs.
"There are deep pockets in big Indian cities where a new thing called rave parties etc are now practiced quite frequently. Therefore, drug menace and business is a fast evolving and growing industry....Hence there are demands," a source in the know of things said.
In yet another incident around September 2024, in what was given as a mega breakthrough and a sensational operation, Assam Rifles made a huge contribution to the anti-drug campaign by recovering 2,60,000 Yaba tablets from Khayerpur.
The Yaba tablet is a combination of methamphetamine (a powerful and addictive stimulant) and caffeine.
The successful operation also resulted in seizure of one vehicle, sources said.
Analysts also say that drugs like MDMA, ketamine, GHB, Rohypnol, and LSD--known collectively as "club drugs"--are an integral part of the rave culture in big cities.
In 2023 violence in Manipur hit headlines. But it is also a fact that around that time, conflicts-ridden Myanmar also became the world’s top opium producer.
It was estimated that illicit crop cultivation expanded from 99,000 to 116,000 acres.
In fiscal 2022-23 alone, contraband worth over US$267 million were recovered in the northeastern region.
Officials say there is a need for effective cooperation and coordination between national and international law enforcement agencies.
Myanmar had emerged as the largest cultivator of opium and producer of heroin globally after Afghanistan.
Its strategic location within the Golden Triangle, with its overland routes and porous borders, certainly enabled the smooth flow of illicit substances.
(Dec 2024, a joint operation by the Assam Rifles, Customs Department, and Tripura Police resulted in the seizure of 3.9 lakh Yaba tablets worth Rs 78 crores in the international market)
But it is also true the operation related to drug trade is often managed by organised crime groups, ethnic militias and also insurgent organisations.
There have been concerns about money laundering, smuggling and even human trafficking.
All these call for enhanced vigilance at various levels.
On Jan 11, 2025, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, chaired a regional conference on ‘Drug Trafficking and National Security’ at Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi.
He also launched the Drug Disposal Fortnight and inaugurated the extension of MANAS-2 helpline to all 36 states and Union Territories.
ends
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