Drug trafficking in India talking point at BIMSTEC meet

Strap: Experts say country sandwiched between two major opium production regions

Bumper harvest behind trend

“The bumper harvests of opium in Afghanistan for the last few years have given rise to increased supply of heroin in all the BIMSTEC countries.” Ministry of Home Affairs

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, February 15

India’s vulnerability to the trafficking of narcotics on account of its geographical location was the highpoint of deliberation at the two-day conference of BIMSTEC nations, which concluded here today.

Officials in the Ministry of Home Affairs said the issue was discussed threadbare as most of the participants pointed to the fact that India was sandwiched between the “Golden Crescent” and the “Golden Triangle”, the two major opium production regions in the world.

During the deliberations at the conference on “Combating Drug Trafficking” for the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) partner nations, the government in an official statement said, “The bumper harvests of opium in Afghanistan for the last few years have given rise to increased supply of heroin in all the BIMSTEC countries.”

It further said, the geographical proximity of India to the two major opium production regions of the world, put all BIMSTEC partner nations in a precarious position in view of India’s vulnerability.

The “Golden Crescent” region of the South Asia comprises Afghanistan, Iran, and Pakistan, while the “Golden Triangle” is the area, where the borders of Thailand, Laos and Myanmar meet at the confluence of the Ruak and Mekong rivers.

“Another major issue for worry is the large number of methamphetamine manufacturing facilities that are prevalent in some of the BIMSTEC countries,” the statement said, adding these facilities manufactured a large quantity of synthetic drug, which was further trafficked to all BIMSTEC countries.

Another area of concern is drug trafficking through sea route that affects the BIMSTEC nations.

“While the Bay of Bengal facilitates trade worth billions of dollars, drug traffickers also use this vast network to their advantage,” an official said, contending that the recent seizures of 371 kg and 1,156 kg methamphetamine by the Indian authorities from two vessels in the Bay of Bengal were glaring examples of this facet.

Further, the BIMSTEC region is one of the most thriving centres of pharmaceutical manufacture and trade. It is also in close proximity to China, which is another leading country in the pharma sector. This has also made the BIMSTEC region vulnerable to the diversion and trafficking in pharmaceutical drugs, the official added.