Sunday, 13 Oct, 2024
By: Anshul Vipat
Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) and the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence’s (DRI) Jamnagar unit and Surat Crime Branch conducted a joint operation in which they seized around 40 kg of heroine worth Rs. 200 crore at the Kolkata port on Friday.
According to Gujarat Director-General of Police (DGP) Ashish Bhatia, the consignment was sent by one SSK General Trading LLC of Dubai Bay as per the records scrutinized by the concerned investigating agencies. The high ranking official further added that the contraband was hidden inside 12 gear boxes that were part of a shipment of 7,220 kilos of metal scrap transported from Dubai in a shipping container. Further investigation revealed that 7,220 kg of metal scrap contained 36 gearboxes, 12 of which were marked with white ink. The 12 gear boxes contained 72 packets of heroin weighing approximately 40 kg worth Rs. 197.82 crore. Bhatia also said that the operation is still ongoing and the investigation is in process by the agencies involved and the forensics analysis team has confirmed that the drug found inside the container is heroin.
According to authorities, this new case appeared to be part of the same worldwide drug mafia network that was smuggling narcotics, primarily from Afghanistan, to India via different ports including Mundra and Kandla in Gujarat.
The Gujarat ATS has worked effectively with various drug probing agencies like DRI and Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) in seizure of drugs like heroin and cocaine. The DRI is India's top anti-smuggling agency, functioning under the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs in the Ministry of Finance, Government of India. It is entrusted with discovering and countering contraband smuggling, such as drug trafficking and illegal international commerce in wildlife and environmentally sensitive commodities, as well as combating commercial frauds relating to foreign trade and evasion of customs duty. Between April 2021 and May 2022, the anti-smuggling agency has seized more than 3,800 kg of heroin valued at approximately Rs. 26,000 crore in the international illicit market, including seizure of 3000 kg Heroin at Mundra in September 2021 and the 293 kg Heroin at Nhava Sheva Port in July 2021.
In recent years, there has been an exponential rise in the drug seizures in India. The reason behind this can be attributed to the rise in smuggling activities. The chart below shows the number of cases registered in last five years under the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic substances (NDPS) act and the drugs in possession for trafficking.
Source: National Crime Records Bureau
The number of cases under the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) act has been rapidly increasing over the years. In the year 2017, 63,800 cases were registered under the act which increased to 72, 721 in 2019. 2020 was the only year which witnessed a dip in cases due to the covid-19 pandemic. 59,806 cases were registered in 2020 but in the next year, the number of cases under the NDPS act jumped to 78,331. The Narcotic Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS Act) of 1985 was enacted to combat drug misuse by prohibiting the use, distribution, manufacturing, and trade of drugs. The instances of possession of drugs for the purpose of trafficking were reported at 22,744 in 2017. This number increased by around ten thousand to 32,302 in the year 2021. The lowest numbers of cases were registered in 2018. This tells that the covid-19 pandemic didn’t affect the possession of drugs for trafficking in a serious manner. The rising number of cases under the NDPS act and the cases of drugs trafficking is a major concern for the nation. The most prone category of people to the drugs is ‘youth’ as they are an easy target for the peddlers. Though various government agencies are working effectively to counter the drugs smuggling and trafficking, more needs to be done in this regard.
