Zero tolerance against drugs to build 'drug-free India': Amit Shah

Amit Shah chaired the Regional Conference on 'Drug Trafficking and National Security' at Bengaluru. He said Centre has adopted zero tolerance against drugs and a three-pronged approach to check the menace.

Bengaluru:Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday said that the Centre has adopted a policy of zero tolerance against drugs to build a drug-free India. Speaking at the Regional Conference on 'Drug Trafficking and National Security' at Bengaluru, Shah said on the directions of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Ministry of Home Affairs has adopted a three-pronged approach to crackdown on narcotics that includes strengthening institutional structures, empowering agencies related to control of narcotics, strengthening their coordination and launching an awareness campaign.

In presence of Shah, 9,298 kg of seized narcotics worth Rs 1,235 crore were destroyed. The Union minister said that under Azadika Amrit Mahotsav, during the 75-day campaign from June 1, 2022, a target was set to destroy 75,000 kg of narcotics. A total of 5, 94,620 kg of narcotics worth Rs 8,409 crore have been destroyed so far, superseding the target manifold, said Shah.

Asserting on a unified effort to deal the issue drug trafficking, Shah said the problem is not related to a state or the Centre alone but is a national problem. He said that the fight against drugs is to be fought not only by the government but also by people. To deal with this issue, he stressed on organising district-level and state-level meetings. He said that no narcotics case should be investigated in isolation. A total of 1257 cases were registered between 2006–2013, which increased by 152 per cent to 3172 between 2014-2022. The total number of arrests during the same period increased by 260 per cent to 4888 from 1362. Similarly, during 2006-2013, 1.52 lakh kg of drugs were seized which doubled to 3.30 lakh kg between 2014-2022. Drugs worth Rs 768 crore were seized during 2006-2013, which increased by 25 times to Rs 20,000 crore between 2014-2022.

The Union minister further said the four pillars to eliminate drug menace is 'detection of drugs, destruction of network, detention of culprits and rehabilitation of drug abusers. He said the need of the hour was to strengthen the Anti-Narcotics Task Force constituted in various states so that decisive action can be taken against narcotics. He said that government all departments and agencies should move forward to make a drug-free India by increasing cooperation, coordination and collaboration. Apart from this, he added that there is a need to increase the focus on coastal security and sea routes and intensify vigil along the southern sea route.

Representatives of five southern states and three Union Territories attended the conference. A Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the Rashtriya Raksha University and the Government of Karnataka to open a new campus of the university at Shivamogga.