Drug trafficking threat looms large over the country

Pushers using internet to supply narcotics to vulnerable youth

Hardy boys from Punjab huff and puff and fail in simple physical tests like the 100 meter race set for police recruitments in the northern state. Talented corporate personnel and otherwise spirited students in Mangalore, Bangalore and Hyderabad in the south are seen to be sitting in corners “depressed.”

The common link is the devil of narcotics, smuggled through “parcels” and also reaching India by way of “internet parcelling”.

Giving an insight into the alarming situation of drug abuse, Director-General of Narcotic
Control Board, Ministry of Home Affairs, O P S Malik told Deccan Herald that tourism, corporate concentration and presence of a large number of technical, medical and other educational institutions in Karnataka has made  narcotic smuggling a very profitable business in the State. The DG cited “the rave party,” held six km from Udupi in the first week of February as an example.

Malik said from Mumbai to Chennai drug consumption is increasing and gave example of recent catch of a huge 30 kg of cocaine in Mumbai and arrest of Columbian and Bolivian drug smugglers. One kg of cocaine was also seized from Tirupati, he said.

 “ Boys in Punjab who used to be pride of the country are now victims of drug abuse”, he said. They have failed in the easiest physical tests required for police recruitment, Malik said.

It is understood that the Punjab Director General of Police was forced “to lower the bar” of the physical tests for police recruitment in Punjab in the light of rampant drug abuse in the state and rapid depletion in the strength of the “boys”.

The DG NCB said “parcels” have become “a real menace” in the smuggling of narcotics as in the last one year NCB had caught 152 parcels in India which, among other narcotics substances included 38 kg of heroin, 71 kg of hashish and one kg of cocaine. Malik said in contrast, 29 parcels containing narcotics and smuggled out of India were reported to NCB by foreign countries. This is much less than those smuggled inside the country.

Asked whether NCB has put a tab on the courier companies or alerted them, the top narcotic cop said “we have given directions to couriers and they are in loop”.

Interestingly, he said some of the parcels are sent through “internet” channels.

Malik also referred to running of “illegal internet pharmacy” and arrests of ten  doctors in Chennai, Vadodara, Kolkata and Hyderabad during the last one year.

The DG said internet pharmacy “is a new emerging phenomenon” in India which use names of popular pharma brands and sell counterfeit medicines.

The websites promoting illegal sales of medicines are hosted in India.