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