The Hindu : New Delhi News : Capital turns into drug smuggling capital Law & order

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Saturday, Oct 06, 2007
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New Delhi

Capital turns into drug smuggling capital Law & order

A substantial chunk of the heroin originating from Afghanistan is finding its way into the Western market through India, says Devesh K. Pandey

Seizures of Afghan heroin by various enforcement agencies in the Capital so far this year indicate a sharp increase in smuggling of drugs that are primarily meant for consumption in Western countries. Though the agencies have been clamping down hard on drug traffickers, they suspect that a substantial portion of the heroin pushed into the country is still finding its way out to their destinations.

Investigations by the drug law enforcement agencies have revealed that the Golden Triangle comprising Myanmar, Laos and Thailand that earlier catered to the demand for heroin in the Western world is now almost inactive, the main reason being the intense pressure mounted on drug trafficking syndicates by the Chinese, American and Thai authorities.

Thanks to continued pressure, cultivation of opium poppy, which is the basic raw material for heroin production, declined substantially in the mountainous terrains of these countries. However, by the time the authorities came to grips with the situation, Afghanistan had emerged as the biggest cultivator of illicit opium. A substantial chunk of the heroin originating from there is now finding its way into the Western market through India. This trend had started in the 1970s when due to frequent conflicts in Central Asia, international drug cartels deserted the Iran-Turkey-Europe route and began using India as a major transit point, according to a senior enforcement official.

People living mostly in the north-western part of the country were roped into the business and they started dealing directly with the suppliers and buyers. As heroin fetches huge sums of money in the international market, it attracted a large number of locals.

In due course, African nationals entered the trade and now they seem to have monopolised the business. They have developed a network at almost all the consumption points like the United Kingdom, the United States and Holland and major transit places like Delhi, the official said. It is suspected that these drug traffickers are directly dealing with suppliers based in Pakistan and major monetary transactions do not take place here.

While earlier they couriered the contraband themselves, now they have started employing locals as couriers to dodge the police net. But a couple of days ago three Nigerian nationals, including a football player, were arrested allegedly with heroin here in the Capital by the Delhi police and the Narcotics Control Bureau.

It is learnt that enforcement agencies have inputs suggesting a decline in the smuggling of Afghan heroin through India in the near future as the mafia active in erstwhile USSR has been trying to open up a land route for smuggling the stuff to European countries through the Afghanistan-Tajikistan border.

Another emerging trend is that heroin, which acts as a depressant, is slowly losing its market to more expensive drugs like cocaine, ecstasy and Amphetamine-type stimulants among the rich.

Nevertheless, a bumper opium poppy crop in Afghanistan has, according to the enforcement agencies, certainly resulted in a spurt in the heroin smuggling business. In the wake of the developments, the agencies would do well to devote more manpower and time to contain the menace. They should identify the pockets from where drug syndicates are employing locals as carriers and adequate welfare measures should be taken to augment the financial condition of the residents of these areas to dissuade them from entering the murky trade.

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