Time for a war on drugs

One of the major national security threats facing India today is cross-border illicit drug trafficking. Of the three major routes through which drugs enter the country; this article focuses on the one from Southeast Asia, particularly Myanmar, through India’s North East, which is one of the oldest narcotics supply routes to all over the world. The deep interior of the forests makes it one of the toughest routes for law enforcement to operate on. Infamously known as the ‘Golden Triangle’, the rural mountains of Myanmar, Laos and Thailand are the major opium-production region in southeast Asia. Drugs produced in this region enter India through Mizoram, Manipur, and Nagaland from Bhamo, Lashio, and Mandalay in Myanmar. The North East is the first major transit, after which the contraband is smuggled to the rest of the country. The Comprehensive National Survey on Extent and Pattern of Substance Use in India conducted in 2018 by the ministry of social justice and empowerment found that there are approximately 23.2 crore drug users in India, with an alarming 1.5 crore in the age group of 10-17 years.

Apart from the plethora of physical and psychological concerns, there exists major economic consequences. As a young country and an emerging economy, it is an extremely critical problem facing India as lack of productivity, skill and efficiency among the young population has the potential to adversely affect GDP growth and hamper future economic prospects. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) published the World Drugs Report 2018, which provided alarming data on drug use in the country as well as the region. A huge chunk of drug abuse victims are from the North East, particularly Assam. The report showed that total drug users in Assam stood at 7.5 lakh, an alarming 2.21% of the total population. To deal with the national crisis of drug abuse, the Union home ministry pushed for a proactive policy to counter the problem at its entry point and prevent the inflow of narcotics to other parts of the country. During the winter session of Parliament, home minister Amit Shah expressed his strong commitment to eliminate illegal contraband coming into the North East from what he termed as the ‘Death Triangle’.

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The Himanta Biswa Sarma-led government had to shoulder the massive responsibility to crack down on the illicit transnational narcotic trade that by now had a deep-rooted network. The government gave operational freedom to the Assam Police against drug traffickers to cut down the chain of supply from the entry point to the peddlers, rendering them without supplies, ultimately ensuring that it does not reach the general population. A citizen-centric approach was adopted that focused on generating awareness to make people active participants in the movement against drugs. Statistics from the Crime Investigation Department (CID), Assam Police reveal that total cases registered have gone up by nearly nine times while arrests have gone up nearly seven times from 2018 to 2022. The accompanying graphic shows the increasing numbers of case registrations as well as arrests by the state police from the time the UNODC report was published to the end of December last year. It also shows that there has been a significant rise in efficiency of law enforcement in terms of conducting successful raids that have led to a large-scale seizure of narcotics. In addition, the circulation of dangerous contraband such as cocaine and morphine has significantly decreased due to the high success rate of raids.

The government’s war on drugs has proved to be an effective strategy to counter illicit drug trafficking in India. By adopting a multi-pronged approach that involves enforcement measures and public awareness campaigns, the government has been able to disrupt the supply chain of drugs, arrest traffickers, and reduce the demand for drugs. Since May 2021, a total of 5,110 cases have been registered, 8,484 people have been arrested and 734 vehicles have been seized under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985. Additionally, approximately 426.5 acres of cannabis and opium cultivation has also been destroyed. As of February 20, 2023, police operations have recovered drugs and cash worth Rs 1274.63 crore.

The government’s war on drugs has proved to be an effective strategy to counter illicit drug trafficking in India. By adopting a multi-pronged approach that involves enforcement measures and public awareness campaigns, the government has been able to disrupt the supply chain of drugs, arrest traffickers, and reduce the demand for drugs. The seizure of large quantities of drugs and the arrest of several notorious dealers is a testament to the success of the government’s efforts. Assam has paved the way and scripted the first victory in India’s war on drugs.

Disclaimer: Authors Rouhin Deb and Nabaarun Barooah are Chief Economist, CM’s Secretariat, Government of Assam and student of political science, Ashoka University, respectively. All views are personal.