Drug menace: The heroin trail

CHANDIGARH: Punjab is emerging as one of the prime transit routes for the drug trafficking trade that sources heroin from Afghanistan, the world���s leading producer of illegal opiates.
In the last 12 months, 160 kg of heroin from Afghanistan, destined for Europe, has been seized in Punjab. One kg of heroin is worth about Rs 1 crore in the international market.While the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has seized 125 kg of heroin, the Border Security Force (BSF) has seized 35 kg of heroin along the 564 km-long Pakistan border in Punjab, since April 2005.
It is estimated that the seized heroin is only 10 per cent of the total quantum that is being smuggled through this border. Shrikant Jadhav, NCB zonal director in Chandigarh, says, "The contraband seized were all in transit. Those caught with the consignment were conduits and worked in mutually exclusive modules."
Elusive Mafia
During the last year, NCB has arrested 14 Indians and four foreigners (a Pakistani, a Kenyan and two Nigerians), in 12 cases of drug trafficking. Some of them were kingpins of modules and part of a larger drug mafia, which the enforcement agencies failed to crack. This has compounded the problem.
"Members of a particular module never know members of other modules. Even if NCB nabs a conduit, he would have no details of others and hence, it is difficult to wipe out the mafia. If one conduit is caught, the mafia finds another person to carry the consignment to the destination," says a NCB source.
Drug trafficking is not the only worrying issue. "Small arms and ammunition too are smuggled as part of the drug consignment,��� says Jadhav. Pakistan-made and Chinese-made pistols and ammunition were found during recent seizures .
The Punjab connection
The trade is thriving despite the security alert and BSF presence. Afghan-made heroin reportedly comes with Pakistani package signs such as ���Abdi Khel���, ���Aeroplane���, ���Cheetak���, ���Syringe��� and numbers like ���999���, ���555���, ���7777���.
NCB sources say that once the Afghan contraband reaches the Indo-Pak border, the drug traffickers have various ways to enter India. "A recent trend is to send the contraband as part of dry fruit consignments on goods trains which are never checked at the border. On several occasions, the packages are thrown over the fence into the Indian side by Pakistani conduits and picked up by their Indian counterparts. Since BSF has considerably reduced the number of personnel manning the borders over the years, the problem is acute," says an NCB source.
Then the consignment, from Amritsar and Ferozepur borders, is transported on buses, trains and private vehicles, through towns like Ludhiana and Nawanshahr and then onward to Chandigarh, which is a major transit point. The contraband is further taken to Delhi, from where it is smuggled out on flights to Europe.
Security chinks
BSF additional director-general (West) NPS Aulakh admits a spurt in drug trafficking from across the border. "The recent thaw in relations between the two nations and the frequent movement of people across the border has led to this situation. Heroin is pushed into India from across the border," he says.
However, the security presence at the border has been reduced over the years. Intelligence sources say that the reduction in BSF strength on the Pak border ��� that once stood at 22 battalions and is now down to half that number ��� is helping drug traffickers. "It has led to gaping holes in border security. Earlier, BSF men stood guard at a distance of about 100 m apart (10 men every km). Now the distance between two BSF guards has gone beyond 300 m. During winter, when fog reduces visibility, it���s easier for drug traffickers to drop consignments across the border," they allege. In all, BSF has about 2,000 men on the 564 km-long Pakistani border in Punjab.
Says Aulakh, "Deployment of personnel comes under constant review by the Union government and the decision to post more men or to reduce the number, is taken at the highest level after assessment of the requirement and the security situation." He adds, "We have tightened vigil and along with NCB, have carried out successful interception operations and effected seizures. BSF raises the issue every time during the bi-annual meet with Pakistan Rangers, and gets an assurance from them to stop the drug traffickers. We hope they keep their promise on this score."
NCB, too, is plagued by manpower problems. There are just five enforcement officers for the Chandigarh-headquartered zone covering Punjab and Himachal Pradesh. Clearly, the security loopholes will have to be plugged first before the problem of narco-trafficking can be tackled.