Multi-pronged approach adopted to check inimical forces
J&K LG, CS, DGP join 2-day conference
Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, July 30: Union Home Minister Amit Shah said today that money generated from drug trafficking is being used for anti-India activities and declared that the Union Ministry for Home Affairs has adopted a multi-pronged approach to prevent inimical forces from using this strategy.
He was speaking after inaugurating a two-day conference on drug trafficking and national security organised by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) in Chandigarh.
Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, Chief Secretary Dr Arun Kumar Mehta and Director General of Police (DGP) Dilbag Singh represented Jammu and Kashmir in the conference.
“Money generated from drugs is being pumped into anti-India activities in some cases. It is important to stop this from security point of view. We have zero tolerance policy towards drugs,” Shah said and called for coordination among various Central as well as State/UT agencies dealing with the drug menace.
Shah said the Government is holding talks with all stakeholders to make laws more stringent and has taken a proactive approach to connect with the states in the anti-narcotics efforts.
“The Union Ministry of Home Affairs is taking tough measures to ensure that security of the country is not compromised with ‘dirty money’ generated through drugs,” Shah said.
Eliminating the scourge is necessary to achieve the objective of a healthy society and prosperous nation. Also, it was important from the security point of view as the money generated from the drug trade is used in activities against the country”, the Minister said.
During past few months security forces and Jammu and Kashmir Police have come across a number of narco-terror modules across the Union Territory which were smuggling drugs and then using money generated from it for fuelling militancy in the Valley. Majority of such modules have been busted by police at various places.
Shah said the Home Ministry has adopted a multi-pronged approach to prevent inimical forces from using “the dirty money” generated from the drug trade against anti-India activities.
“We have adopted a proactive approach to connect the States with it (the fight against drugs),” he said.
“The results are encouraging and it shows that it isn’t a problem that can’t be weeded out completely,” said Shah, stressing that all agencies should complement each other’s efforts.
The Union Home Minister also referred to use of drug menace in border State saying the agencies have to be pro-active and the States should cooperate with all agencies used in busting the drug syndicates.
“All agencies should work in one direction and also join one platform on certain occasions,” he said.
Shah expressed satisfaction that 21 States have set up Anti-Narcotics Task Force (ANTF).
Jammu and Kashmir has also set up the ANTF.
Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, Chief Secretary Dr Arun Kumar Mehta and Director General of Police Dilbag Singh are also attending the two-day conference during which useful discussions will take place with Chief Ministers and senior officers of other States on tackling the drug menace,
Though Jammu and Kashmir has been able to curb the drug menace especially the drugs supplied from across the border through drones and other modes for pumping money generated through them into militancy, the challenges persisted. The UT Government, security forces and police have taken series of measures to overcome the challenge.
Meanwhile, the Union Home Minister said the darknet and cryptocurrency are linked to the narcotics trade and the Home Ministry has recently set up a Task Force in this regard.
Shah said various Ministries, including Home, Education, Social Justice and Empowerment and Health, in coordination with various agencies, including the NCB, have joined hands in the battle against drugs.
Shah said when Narendra Modi became Prime Minister in 2014, the Centre adopted a zero-tolerance policy towards narcotics.
The fight against drugs, which was progressing swiftly and in the right direction, has started showing results, he said.
The Union Home Minister noted that there were seizures of 3.3 lakh kg drugs and a 260 per cent increase in arrests in the 20014-21 period compared to 2006-13.
Shah said 1.52 lakh kg drugs were confiscated during 2006-2013 while 3.3 lakh kg drugs were seized in the 2014-2021 period.
Between 2006-2013, Rs 768 crore worth of drugs were seized while between 2014-21, Rs 20,000 crore worth of drugs were recovered, he said.
Shah said there has been a 200 per cent increase in the number of cases registered. During the past seven years (2014-2021), there has been a 260 per cent increase in arrests made, he said.
“In this fight, bringing States together and taking on this scourge with synergy is very important,” he said.
He said that the drugs have an adverse impact not only on those consuming them but also on society, the economy and the country’s security. “We have to weed it out completely,” he said.
Coinciding with the conference, nearly 31,000 kg drugs were destroyed by the NCB teams in Delhi, Chennai, Guwahati and Kolkata.
For coordination among various Central and State agencies, the Narco Coordination Centre (NCORD) mechanism was set up by MHA in the year 2016 to conduct regular meetings.
This NCORD system has been restructured to four tiers up to the district level by MHA in 2019 for better coordination and cooperation and meetings are held regularly, said Shah.
“We have to give more thrust at the district level… If the desired results have to be achieved,” Shah noted.
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