MUNDRA DRUG HAUL

This is in reference to the news report, “On Punjab police leads, 75 kg heroin seized from Mundra port”. The seizure of 75-kg heroin by the Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) from a container near the Mundra port, following a tip-off by the Punjab Police, concludes that drug traffickers are preferring the maritime route for their operations. The case highlights that cooperation and coordination between the law enforcement authorities of various states are a prerequisite to curb the drug trade, which has spread across the country as well as across international borders. Several investigating agencies have made major recoveries of drugs from shipping containers arriving at Gujarat’s ports from other countries over the past year. The biggest haul was in September 2021, when the DRI seized nearly 3,000 kg of top-grade heroin, which had originated in Afghanistan and was worth about Rs 21,000 crore in the global market, from two containers at the Mundra port. The chargesheet filed in that case by the National Investigation Agency in March this year mentioned that the key accused had links with Pakistan-based terror outfits and the money made from smuggling drugs into the country was to be used to perpetrate anti-India activities. It’s a cause for concern that drug cartels continue to be active despite the frequent seizure of contraband. The lack of deterrence suggests that there are gaps in surveillance by security agencies which embolden drug criminals to keep plying their nefarious trade. The grave security threat posed by them should elicit a stronger response from the Central and state governments.

— KHOKAN DAS, KOLKATA via email