30 May 2002
MILITANTS GETTING HELP FROM
NARCOTIC SMUGGLERS
From Jal Khambata
NEW
DELHI: The Indian borders with Pakistan remain as porous as ever for
the narcotic smugglers despite the amassed Army as they know
innumerable entry points to carry on business of trafficking in the
Afghan heroin against all odds.
Reports that the militants are
now taking help of these smugglers to get into India or send money to
their comrades in arms have led the Defence Ministry to take the help
of the Narcotics Control Board to trace some of the routes they may
be still using.
The Narcotic authorities have documented four
border areas as the most vulnerable for trafficking of heroin and
other drugs but they say they are helpless to have mapped all the
possible routes since trafficking is possible from any part of the
borders.
The vulnerable areas where the vigil is being raised
on the basis of the Narcotic records are: Amritsar in Punjab, Jodhpur
in Rajasthan, Akhnoor in Jammu and Kashmir and Kheda in
Gujarat.
Though the Indian Government does not have any
evidence to prove Pakistan Government's direct involvement in
smuggling of drugs, sources say there are instances when Pakistanis
including those suspected to be ISI agents have been arrested in
connection with drugs. Seizures included heroin as well as RDX and
other detonators.
Besides helping the militants in using the
routes known for decades for drug smuggling, the narcotic smugglers
are also reported to provide their services for transfer of money,
arms and ammunition and as such the Indian Government's concern at
what is described as the narcotic terrorism that may hit the country
unless checked effectively.
Afghanistan has the highest
cultivation of opium which is converted into high-value heroin either
in Afghanistan or Pakistan and then it is smuggled into India. In the
official parlance, it is called "South West Asian" (SWA)
heroin.
Since the previous Taliban regime had been cracking
down on the Afghan farmers illegally growing opium, the flow of
heroin from across the Pakistan borders had slowed down as evident
from a drop in the seizures in the year 2001 to just 187 kg as
against 493 kg in 2000, 326 kg in 1999, 240 kg in 1998, 640 kg in
1997 and 802 kg in 1996. In the first three months of 2002, the
heroin seizures totaled 41 kg.
While the smuggling lords
usually make use of the locals for transportation of their goodies,
there have been instances when Pakistani and Afghanistani nationals
have been also arrested. During the year 2001, those arrested for
drug trafficking across the borders included four Pakistanis and two
Afghans. Pakistanis arrested in earlier years were 4 in 1998, 3 in
1999 and 12 in 2000. The Afghans nagged during these years were 3, 4
and 6 respectively.
Seizures during 2001 also indicated that
heroin could find its way to places as far remote from Indo-Pak
borders as Tamil Nadu in deep southern India. When the contraband
drugs can be smuggled to so far places from the borders, no wonder if
the same culprits were transporting arms and ammunition across the
country to create trouble any time any where, the Home Ministry
sources point out. END