Speed Post News Network
New Delhi : Union Home Minister Amit Shah on February 13, 2020, inaugurated the two-day BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) ‘Conference on Combating Drug Trafficking’, in New Delhi. He congratulated the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) for organising this important conference and welcomed the delegations, coming from the Partner Nations including Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand and different State Governments of India. Shah also released the administrative and operational manuals of NCB on the occasion.
Addressing the gathering, Shah called illicit drug trade a global menace saying it is a burning global issue that plagues every Nation, especially the Bay of Bengal littoral States. It is thus very important for all countries to engage with each other to exchange ideas, policies and best practices to combat this menace, he said.
Shah talked about PM Narendra Modi’s vision to end the global drug menace and recalled the 2018 Kathmandu BIMSTEC conference where the PM invited the Partner Nations to India, while announcing the current conference on Combating Drug Trafficking. He expressed confidence and hope that this conference would open new avenues and generate new solutions to combat the menace of drug trafficking in the region.
The Home Minister assured the delegates that under PM Modi’s vision of a Drug-free India, the Government of India has devised a well laid out strategy to ensure inter agency coordination and revamp the prosecution mechanism to end the menace of drug trafficking. “We will not allow drugs from any country of the world to enter into our country nor will allow it to go out of the country,” Shah added.
Talking about the zero tolerance policy followed by Government of India against narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances trade, Shah talked about various steps taken by India on national as well as international levels, including those at UN, INTERPOL, to combat this menace. He also termed the Bay of Bengal littoral States as the focus of India’s ‘Neighbourhood First’ and ‘Act East’ policies and India being the largest country in the region will not shy away from its responsibilities in fighting drug trafficking and terrorism.
Talking about the seriousness of the drug trafficking issue, Shah quoted the UN’s World Drug Report and said that over 5% of the global population between 15-64 years is addicted to narcotics and use of illicit drugs. He expressed concern that the rate of addiction is showing a fast increase i.e. a 30% rise in the last 10 years. Shah cited an estimate of over $ 400 billion of yearly illicit drug trade happening globally giving an idea of the size of the mammoth issue facing humanity, according to a PIB release.
The Home Minister laid emphasis on the need for all Nations to join hands and supplement each other’s efforts in fighting this menace as this global scourge cannot be fought by any country individually. He said that Nations of the BIMSTEC are especially affected by illicit drug trade, transnational crimes and terrorism, making it all the more important to use platforms like this conference to devise coordinated strategies in ending the evil from its roots.
Shah described how Indian security agencies have worked brilliantly to seize over 2 metric tonnes of illicit Heroin till September 2019 as compared to 1.2 metric tonnes in 2018. He also said that Manipur and Mizoram having borders with Myanmar and other coastal States are sensitive and may become a gateway for illicit drugs entering India, which needs to be prevented.
He sad that the Home Ministry has also started an e-portal for digitalisation of drug data that may be utilised by various drug enforcement agencies. In the last 5 years, over 1.89 lakh Narcotics cases have been registered in India, in which over 2.31 lakh drug smugglers were arrested by the agencies including over 1,500 foreign nationals, he said.