A ‘TRI-PRONGED’ ATTACK ON DRUGS

A ‘TRI-PRONGED’ ATTACK ON DRUGS

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RAJIV NAYAN AGRAWAL

DELHI----------------------------Union Home Minister Amit Shah has announced the biggest and most comprehensive attack on the drug trade in the country. Addressing the National Conference of Anti-Narcotics Task Force (ANTF) chiefs on Tuesday, he clarified that instead of catching small-time drug traffickers, the time has come to dismantle entire drug networks and cartels. He outlined a 'tri-pronged strategy', under which the fight against drugs will be made more aggressive.

During the conference itself, more than 1.37 lakh kilograms of seized drugs worth approximately ₹4,800 crore were destroyed at 11 locations across the country. The Home Minister said that to eradicate drug abuse completely, we must work together on three fronts:

Ruthless Approach: A completely ruthless approach must be adopted to break the drug supply chain.

Strategic Approach: A strategic approach must be adopted to reduce the demand for drugs.

Human Approach: A humane approach must be adopted towards those who are addicted, emphasizing treatment and rehabilitation.

Warning of future threats, Amit Shah said that the trend of synthetic drugs and illegal labs producing them will increase, which must be curbed before it even begins. He stressed that the time has come to bring fugitives operating drug networks in India from abroad to justice. To this end, he directed the creation of a joint mechanism of the CBI, NCB, and state police to expedite the extradition and deportation of such criminals.

The Home Minister said that drug cartels are now using the darknet, cryptocurrency, and modern logistics, and to combat these, we too must adopt advanced technology. He gave several important instructions to the states:

A special squad should be created in every state to investigate financial transactions (hawala, crypto). Narcotics-focused forensic labs should be established to strengthen cases. In every major case, the entire network should be dismantled using NETGRID.

Presenting statistics, he said that between 2014 and 2025, drugs worth ₹165,000 crore were seized and 761,000 people were arrested, a significant increase compared to the previous decade. However, he said this achievement is still small compared to the scale of the problem and the fight must be intensified.