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Tamil Nadu
A well-planned operation is the need of the hour, says R. Rajaram Drug trade is the second largest industry in the world after arms trade what with drug traffickers using ingenious means to smuggle narcotics from and to India. Smuggling of narcotic substances by despatching them through couriers is the latest mode of the traffickers if the seizures made at Tiruppur and Hyderabad in the recent past is any indication. Drug trafficking being a well organised crime with smugglers existing in anonymity, surveillance in a systematic and professional way coupled with reliable information and a well planned operation is the need of any successful narcotics enforcement. When the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) South Zone unit Zonal Director S. Davidson Devasirvatham put forth these and more information to a select group of police officers of the Central Zone during a capsule course on Drug Law Enforcement here recently, it was to sensitise them on various aspects connected with narcotics smuggling and the ways to check this illegal activity. The programme, attended by Sub Inspectors, Inspectors and Deputy Superintendents of Police, was quite exhaustive with the NCB team making detailed presentations in order to delineate a wholesome picture of drug trade and enforcement strategies. The sessions covered an entire gamut starting from the types of narcotics and their derivatives; methods of drug taking and their effects; prices of various types of narcotics in Indian market; the international trafficking route through which it is smuggled into India and various transit points within the country to the modes through which the drugs find entry into neighbouring countries such as Sri Lanka and Maldives. Opium is primarily smuggled from the golden crescent – Iran, Afghanisthan and Pakistan and dispatched to various transit points in India and several other countries by a well-organised network of traffickers using smart and creative means to avoid detection, said Mr. Davidson. While ‘ganja’ cultivation is widely prevalent in the Western Ghats adjoining Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka, besides Andhra Pradesh and the North- East region, it is also smuggled from neighbouring Nepal to the country and dispatched to various places. In the case of Hashish oil, Idukki district in Kerala is where its production is more and smuggled from there to Maldives, which attracts a lot of foreign tourists. The first-time seizure of cannabis in South Zone from a Kenyan national in Chennai a few days ago was yet another disturbing trend. Smugglers conceal the contraband in false bottom of suitcases, dispatch it through cargo, and hide them inside wigs, football, books, clothing lining and even empty cylinders. Sending drugs through couriers by false declaration is the latest technique of the smugglers to avoid detection, said Mr. Davidson adding that the NCB had a sensitisation meeting with the courier companies. The information given by them on suspicion of some parcels led to the seizure of narcotics by opening them. As the drug trafficking syndicates involve foreign nationals and Sri Lankan refugees, the police were advised to keep a watch on them in their respective jurisdictions. Officers attached to coastal districts were advised to keep ready a list of suspects and carry out the surveillance in a professional way with non-police behaviour, as drug traffickers also mounted surveillance on the enforcers, besides keeping a watch on boat operators. Liaison with courier companies and documentation of drug trade offenders is imperative. Drug trafficking is like a relay race with consignment exchanging hands frequently. Hence identification of the network, the carriers, suppliers, receivers, transporters are all crucial for which collection of intelligence is the key. The success of enforcement depends on patience, reliable information and well-executed operation, said Mr. Davidson.
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