Union Home Minister Amit Shah addresses the 1st National Conference of ANTF Heads of states & UTs

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• Apr 19, 2023 | Kabir Chakraborty

He also urged the authorities to eliminate the entire drug trade network in order to win the war on drugs.

Digital
Desk: Addressing the 1st National Conference of State and UT Anti-Narcotics
Task Force Leaders today, Honourable Union Minister of Home and Cooperation
Amit Shah urged narco-agencies to be merciless in dealing with drug dealers.

"You
must be ruthless with the drug dealers; only then will the battle gain
traction." It will also deter others from joining the drug trafficking
force. Adolescents that are drug addicts are victims. "However, those who
trade in drugs and weaken our generations, national security, and economy in
exchange for money must be dealt with harshly," he stated.

He
also stated that narco-agencies have two formidable legal weapons in their
arsenal in the fight against drugs. The NDPS Act is one, and property seizures
are another.

He
also urged the authorities to eliminate the entire drug trade network in order
to win the war on drugs.

"We
must take a top-to-bottom and bottom-to-top approach." It is not a success
if we apprehend someone who is using drugs or retrieve a drug pouch. We need to
uncover the complete trading network, including the route it took. Similarly,
if we seize a shipment of drugs, we will have to trace the full route it took
to reach the smallest peddler. We will not be successful if we only investigate
the crime. "We can succeed by investigating and destroying the
network," he stated.

He
also stated that help from the NCB, ED, and NIA can be used to apply the
bottom-to-top and top-to-bottom approaches in international and inter-state
issues.

He
urged all narcotics authorities to fight together on a single platform.

He
stated that fostering cooperation, collaboration, and coordination across
various narco-agencies is essential to ensuring that they all operate in the
same direction with comparable vigour.

"This
battle must be fought by the entire government and team India, rising above
political ideologies," he said.

In
an appeal to destroy seized drugs, he stated that in order to avoid the
circulation of seized drugs through corrupt channels, they must be destroyed
after following proper procedures.

"Please
make the decision to destroy seized drugs public so that public awareness of
the issue can be raised," he said.

He
urged the states to strengthen their forensic labs in order to conduct
narcotics-related investigations.

"The
funds you receive for upgrading Forensic Labs should be used to upgrade the
labs in order to supplement narco-related facilities." "If necessary,
I will consult with Chief Ministers," he stated.

He
also stated that the ED would be used to investigate the economic aspects of
the registered cases in order to tighten the noose around the necks of drug
cartels.

He
stated that in order to prevent drug trafficking via water routes, coastal
states must collaborate with agencies and local residents. Victory in the
struggle is impossible without this cooperation.

He
called for nationwide cooperation, saying, "Every state should exert equal
effort and meetings at the state, district, and central levels." I urge
all state and UT task force leaders to take an integrated strategy and to do
their jobs completely. This war cannot be won by a single department. A
large-scale collaboration of agencies, departments, and administrations across
the country is required."

"When
we fight the drug problem, we must keep in mind that this is the year of
India's Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav." Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asked
us to set goals for India during this period that must be met by 2047, when
India would commemorate 100 years of independence. The Ministry of Home Affairs
has set a goal of making India a drug-free nation by 2047. Because the
substance "not only hollows out our generations but also threatens
national security and cripples our economy," he added.

"Today
we are at a juncture where we can move forward with a collective determination,
with the spirit of Team India, and with a whole-of-government approach, and
then we can win this battle," he added. Many countries around the world
have given up the fight against narcotics. But we've reached a point where we
can move ahead and win the battle."

He
stated that the Ministry of Home Affairs is fighting this struggle in three
ways. The initial step is to strengthen the organisational infrastructure. In
the recent year, NCORD established a Narcotics Task Force as part of this
endeavour.

He
also stated that this is a difficult battle. But when everyone fights in the
same direction, everything is possible.

"We've
demonstrated it over the last three years." Only 1257 cases were
documented between 2006 and 2013, but this increased to 354 between 2014 and
2022, representing an 181% rise. Similarly, the number of arrests climbed over
300% during this period, from 1363 to 5408, and drug seizures increased from
1.52 lakh kilogrammes to 3.73 lakh kilogrammes. There has also been an
improvement in the quality of narcotics seized. The value of narcotics
confiscated has risen from Rs.668 crore to Rs22,000 crore."

Similarly,
he stated that the central authorities will remain vigilant in order to assist
the task force in its investigations into darknet and crypto-currencies.
Furthermore, Blockchain analysis, geospatial intelligence, and digital
forensics should all be utilised in investigations.

"If
we take this approach, we will find ourselves two steps ahead of the drug
traffickers in this battle," he stated.

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