In 2021, Indian law enforcement agencies seized 5,651.68 kilograms heroin in border states last year, the government informed the parliament on Thursday, during the ongoing Monsoon session.
This is not the total amount of heroin seized in India, but just that taken over by various drug law enforcement agencies in states having international boundaries only.
With 3,335.17 kilograms seized in the state, Gujarat topped the list of seizures of the banned substance.
Gujarat emerges as primary point of entry
In September 2021, the largest seizure of narcotics substance in the country was reported at Mundra port when a drugs consignment weighing 3,000 kgs, worth Rs 21,000 crore, was seized by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence. The matter was handed over to the National Investigation Agency to probe terror financing angles.
In February this year, a joint operation conducted by the Narcotics Control Bureau and the Indian Navy led to the seizure of 750 kgs of drugs from a ship off the Gujarat coast, worth over Rs 2,000 crore.
From 2019-2021, Gujarat police and other agencies seized contraband weighing 437 kgs and worth Rs 2,100 crore, and arrested 73 persons.
In the first week of June, nine Pakistani nationals were arrested by Gujarat ATS, in a joint operation with the Indian Coast Guard, while trying to smuggle heroin worth Rs 280 crore to India. The Pakistani boat ‘Al Haj’ was carrying about 56 kgs of heroin and was brought to Jakhau port in Kutch district for further investigation. The boat was intercepted around 14 nautical miles into Indian territory of the International Maritime Borderline off the Jakhau coast in Kutch.
Home Ministry assures that action being taken
The Home Ministry says the government has taken several steps to contain drug trafficking in the country.
“The government introduced the Narco Coordination Centre (NCORD) in 2016 to have effective coordination of actions among various Ministries, Departments, Central and States law enforcement agencies. The mechanism was restructured in 2019 into a 4 tier structure — Apex Committee (Headed by Union Home Secretary); Executive Committee (Headed by Special Secretary (IS), MHA); State Level Committee (Headed by Chief Secretary of the concerned State); and District Level Committee (Headed by District Magistrate),” the ministry said.
In addition, Director General-level talks are being held with Myanmar, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Pakistan to discuss and resolve various drug-related issues.
“India has signed 26 Bilateral Agreements, 15 Memorandum of Understandings and 02 Agreements on Security Cooperation with different countries for combating illicit trafficking of Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances,” the MHA said.
The ministry also told the Rajya Sabha that the, “Narcotics Control Bureau co-ordinates with various international organizations such as SAARC Drug Offences Monitoring Desk (SDOMD), Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS), Colombo Plan, Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), ASEAN Senior Officials on Drug Matters (ASOD), Bay of Bengal Initiative For Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Co-Operation (BIMSTEC), Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) etc. for sharing information and intelligence to combat transnational drug trafficking”.
