Centre taking definitive approach to tackle drug trafficking trade: Amit Shah

Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday said that the central government is taking a definitive approach to control drug trafficking trade under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Addressing a conference on combating drug trafficking for BIMSTEC countries here, Shah said that a law will be framed by the government for coordination among different organisations to tackle the drug menace.

"We will not allow the import and export of intoxicating drugs. We are completely dedicated to controlling drug trafficking. I congratulate the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) for its manual, which has been prepared in a very short time. India has zero-tolerance towards intoxicating drugs," the Home Minister asserted.

"Under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi, we are taking a definitive approach to control drug trafficking and trade. We are about to set a framework for coordination among different organizations to fight this challenge," he said.

Referring to a data compiled by the World Drug Report, Shah said that 5.5 per cent of people in the world between 15-64 years are using drugs.

"That means over 27 crore people use such drugs. The swift rise in this number is alarming. In 2010, it was 21 crore," he added.

Shah said that drug trafficking trade is a major income source for anti-social elements and terrorists. "These elements use this income for their illegal and unlawful activities," he added.

The Home Minister said, "We must utilise our trans-national ability against terrorism and drug trafficking. In 2019, the amount of illegal heroin in India had crossed 2 metric tons by September. In 2018, the total number was only 1.2 metric tons. This shows how diligently our agencies have increased their work."

Talking about the steps, the Centre has taken to combat the menace, Shah said that the Centre has initiated better coordination and linkage between organisations that combat illegal drugs.

"We have formulated national coordination between Union and State agencies to perform this task better," he further said.