GOLDEN CRESCENT

One of the important issues in India’s Internal Security is illegal drug trafficking. United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNDOC) in its 2010 World Drug Report mentions India as a major hub for Illegal drug trafficking from the neighboring nations. India shares a land border of around 15106km which are Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, China, and Myanmar. India’s major land border is porous (i.e., at many of the places there is clarity about the physical borders) and India’s geographical location is squeezed between golden crescent and golden triangle like it’s the fulcrum between opium and heroin due to which India is vulnerable to such drug trafficking and hence it is not just major security threat but also affects our fragile society and political stability.

 GOLDEN CRESCENT

The ‘Golden Crescent is the illegal opium production area which is located at the intersection of Central, South, and West Asia. This region overlaps three countries they are Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. According to UNDOC around the world’s 90% of the non-pharmaceutical grade opium is produced in Afghanistan and other than opium Afghanistan is also the largest producer of Hashish too. Not just India and Russia but through the Balkan Route countries like Iran, Turkey, Bulgaria, and Greece are also supplied with opium.

CHALLENGES TO INDIA’S NATIONAL SECURITY

Traditionally India has been the land of natural drugs consumer such as Opium. But since 2006, the consumption of synthetic drugs has increased as compared to natural drugs with that India also has become the hub of “Precursor Chemicals” (Precursor Chemicals are used to prepare synthetic drugs such as Ketamine, Codeine, Acetic anhydride, etc. are used to produce heroin synthetically)

Other than factors such as difficult terrain, easy availability, and ineffective border management, people in order to eradicate poverty from their lives are often found choosing drug trafficking for earning.

NEW REVEALING TO THE NETWORKS

According to reports the drug traffickers use the same routes to smuggle drugs which are used by terrorists to smuggle weapons. This was a noted fact in Mumbai Serial Bomb Blast in 1993. Dawood Ibrahim and his D-company group used the International Drug route to supply the weapons and explosives and plotted the 1993’s blasts.

On 31^st December 2015 in the Pathankot attack, the Investigatory report revealed that ISI did use the same route for sending arms which were used for drug trafficking

The money generated from drug trafficking is often used to aid, fund terrorist activities and armed insurgency

PROBLEMS FOR A NATION

The easy availability of narcotics is also associated with the deteriorated law and other conditions and social disharmony.

The narcotics trade drains off the state’s precious financial resources which otherwise could have been used for developmental purposes

MEASURES TAKEN BY INDIA

Stringent domestic legislations

India has enacted stringent Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act,1985 which prohibits production, possession, sale, purchase, transport, storage, and consumption of drugs

Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has also been set under NDPS Act,1985.

The NCB act as a nodal agency that coordinate with States to enforce drug laws.

Sources:

• UNDOC
• Wikipedia
• Narcotics India