Give priority to drug law enforcement

B. Anton Jeyanathan

DRUG ADDICTION: June 26 is commemorated as a "UN declared day against illicit Drug Trafficking". It is traditional that agencies engaged in Drug Law enforcement, Non Governmental Organizations and Societies engaged in social activities organize special events to remind and convey the message to the society at large, of the danger looming ominously, by the use and abuse of narcotics drugs.

If proper and urgent preventive action and law enforcement measures are not taken, it is difficult to save our country from further peril.

Drug trafficking

In legal parlance, drug trafficking includes: use, possession, manufacture, cultivation, production, distribution, transport, shipment and sale of narcotic drugs. All of the above mentioned activities are illegally carried on by various strata of our country. Cannabis (Ganja) plants are cultivated illegally, mostly, in the Southern part of the country. The leaves, stems and other parts of the plant turned out into products for smoking and chewing are sold and distributed locally and internationally.

The statistics compiled by the specialized agency, the Police Narcotics Bureau (PNB) entrusted with the task of preventing, detecting and prosecuting offenders who commit offences as prescribed in the Poisons Opium and Dangerous Drug Ordinance (PODD), will give the indication, how our country has earned the black mark as a nation of ever increasing drug consumers.

Though Ganja is widely smoked, the detections do not reflect the true picture of the number of users, offenders and those convicted. The reason being that the consumption of Ganja has not surfaced as a serious law enforcement issue unlike the use and abuse of heroin, though ganja is as dangerous as any other narcotic drug which is used worldwide.

The statistics compiled by the PNB, reproduced below give any reader the insight of the number of offenders who were arrested for drug offences during the years 2001 to 2005.

Type of		Years	Year	Year	Year	Year
Drugs		2001	2002	2003	2004	2005
Heroin		10278	11006	12488	11846	11738
Cannabis	5195	7441	9566	10485	16265
Opium		02	03	06	02	01
Hashish		02	-	02	03	01
Ecstacy		-	-	-	01	-

Demand and supply

The indication of our country sliding down further is evident from the increase in the "Demand" for heroin which is a depressant substance from morphine, a by-product of Opium. Heroin, the brown variety also known as brown sugar, is used for inhalation, a method preferred by the users in our country for injecting, which requires a more soluble variety known as the white sugar.

The Brown variety heroin is smuggled from India and Pakistan. Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan which form the "Golden Crescent" are the countries where acres, and acres of illegal plantations of poppy plants are cultivated, and is the region where the entire quantity of brown heroin is manufactured for distribution worldwide.

The air route and the sea route which link India and our country are misused by smugglers to supply the demanded quantity to the Financiers who invest large sums of money to receive the contraband, dispose the parcels to the wholesale agents, who in turn distribute to the sellers who are located in almost all the cities and suburbs. With the ever increasing users and abusers of heroin, the distributors or the small-time sellers do not find hard or troublesome to sell their products, foil paper wrapped milligrams of Heroin.

Law enforcement

The Police Department, PNB and police stations covering the entire country have to consider the spread of use and abuse of drugs as a serious problem as serious as any other criminal offences, if not give a priority status to the prevention and detection of offenders who violate the Drug laws. The attention given to the eradication, if not reduction of prevalence of drug selling joints in their own areas by the Officers In Charge (OICs) of police stations are lukewarm or insignificant.

The inaction or negligence by the law enforcement officers offer encouragement and boldness to the drug dealers, to continue their businesses without fear of being detected. The members of the public too get the wrong message and patronize the sale joints boosting the sale of drugs. The street level enforcement of detecting small-time sellers in each Police area is the responsibility of the OICs.

It has to be admitted that the Police officers are called upon to shoulder more responsibility to meet the challenge posed by the terrorists, and the security of persons and property. However, the Drug Trafficking has its tentacles in the increase of crime, murder, terrorism, social disorder, under world rivalry, abduction and socio economic disruption amongst the citizens.

Therefore the drug law enforcement has to be given the utmost priority, which will control the commission of other crimes. A crime free or crime less living is all what the residents look forward, which will give the benefit of a peaceful and harmonious life-style to the residents of each police area. Police Narcotics Bureau (PNB)

The PNB was established three decades ago, as a specialized unit to concentrate on the large scale drug trafficking activities to bring the financiers and smugglers to book and to be the focal point to liaise with International drug law enforcement agencies in the areas of assistance in training, equipment and exchange of intelligence and information on International Drug trafficking cartels and their activities.

The PNB has earned a reputation and accolade locally and internationally for its professional approach in their assignments, both in the fields of preventive education, detections of large quantities of heroin, arresting financiers and smugglers.

However, in the recent past, the hierarchy of the police department has failed to strengthen the PNB, in not allocating sufficient personnel to continue the important and specialized task for which the PNB was established. Suitable, qualified, honest and efficient senior officer has not been appointed to head the PNB. Adequate supervising officers have not been posted.

Officers, trained and experienced, who were attached to the PNB have been transferred out. The weakening and depleting the strength will not only reduce the seizure of drugs and arrest of big time drug traffickers, but will give a field day for the drug traffickers.

The Government and the Police hierarchy should consider strengthening the PNB by allocating adequate strength and the supply of vehicles and equipment to combat the menace of drug trafficking.

All the OICs of Police stations throughout the country should be taken to task if they fail to curb the drug trafficking activities in their areas, and at the same time reward, by way of promotions or handsome monetary rewards, to those officers who have been successful in eradicating drug trafficking activities in their areas by way of notable detections and arrest of known drug leaders.

Corruption

Corruption amongst law enforcement agencies breeds illegal activities, especially drug trafficking. The revelation of the names of high police officers supposedly mentioned in the diary of a big time drug trafficker arrested in connection with the murder of a Judge, the arrest and detention of some police officers allegedly having connection with drug dealers, frequent detection of police officers on charges of bribery and corruption and the unconfirmed information of the connection between politicians and high ranking police officers with drug traffickers are not encouraging information for the public to have complete confidence in the police.

They expect the police officers to save them from the menace of drug trafficking. Intelligent, honest and efficient police officers with experience in practical police work should be spotted, interviewed, selected and posted to the PNB.

Any officer suspected of any corrupt involvement should be hounded out of the PNB. Drug trafficking is considered as lucrative illegal business as equal as illegal arms trade. Drug traffickers who posses illegal wealth will not hesitate to entrap any officer by offering large sums of money. Constant supervision and review of the conduct, lifestyle and the companions of officers of the PNB should be a compulsory exercise.

The officers should be regularly trained locally and abroad on all aspects of drug law enforcement methods, especially intelligence gathering, cultivating informants, detection methods, investigation techniques and prosecution procedures.

National Dangerous Drugs Control Board (NDDCB)

The NDDCB should be an action oriented and proactive body in the leadership of the fight against Drug trafficking. It should strive to group the three agencies who are empowered to act under the (PODD) into a Combined Task Force to gather Intelligence and target the big time drug traffickers. It should build up confidence amongst the public, to cooperate with the law enforcement agencies to pass on information on the activities of known and unknown drug leaders.

Whilst improving and continuing the preventive programmes undertaken by the NDDCB, it should seriously involve in the most important aspect of law enforcement. It should study the role played by similar bodies in other countries like India, Pakistan, and Bangkok etc. where the bodies set up by the Governments take active participation in the detection and prosecution aspects of drug law enforcement.

The NDDCB should set up an Intelligence unit, a striking and a prosecuting unit consisting of officers from the Police, Customs, Excise and the Attorney General's Departments to operate under its directions.

Unless and otherwise urgent and serious consideration is given to strengthen the preventive educational programmes and at the same time to gear the enforcement aspect to target the financiers and the smugglers and apprehend them, the future of our country in the growth of economic and social status is in the grave danger.

Illegal wealth

The desire of accumulating illegal wealth will lure any individual or groups to take to drug trafficking business. The Financiers, who invest their illegally earned money to acquire more and more illegal wealth will utilize their wealth to entertain corrupt politicians and Law enforcement officers.

Vulnerable individuals are compromised or hooked into carry the drugs from place to place, from country to country.

They are known as couriers, who adopt various concealing methods to prevent detection. The many visitors to our neighbouring Chennai are small time couriers who smuggle small quantities of heroin following their business visits.

They are rewarded for their services well by way of purchasing their air tickets, hospitality at Chennai and cash depending on the success of the operations and the quantity of drugs smuggled in without being detected. The arrest of an Army Major, last week, whilst transporting a large quantity of heroin from Mannar to Colombo demonstrates as to how the drug smugglers use their illegal wealth to net in people in high echelon and status to help in their illegal businesses.

Drug trafficking by itself is a destroyer of any growing nation. It has direct and indirect links to terrorist groups who indulge in drug smuggling as a means of funding to purchase their armaments.

Increase in health expenditure occurs as more indoor patients seeking treatment for illness related to drug consumption. Reduction in production in factories and manufacturing plants are also due to absenteeism of employees addicted to consumption of drugs.

Draining of wealth in the purchase of drugs by drug addicts, and transfer of our wealth as foreign exchange illegally for the purchase of drugs in the neighbouring countries are few of the components which make drug trafficking as the most devastating illegal activity that any nation can afford to ignore.

If this menace is not confronted with determined effort by the Government and the Law enforcement agencies, there is little hope for our country raising its head as a drug free country.

(The writer is a retired Deputy Inspector General of police)