1. Home
2. Opinion

SEIZURE OF HUGE HEROIN FROM MUNDRA PORT IN GUJARAT

YB WEB DESK. Dated: 9/23/2021 6:19:41 AM

T K NANDANAN The covert business of drug trafficking has been very active and on the rise for a long time across the world especially across Afghanistan and Pakistan regions and the seizureof nearly 3,000 kg of heroin valued at Rs.15,000 crorelast week from Mundra port in Gujarat drew worldwide attention. The seizure of this contraband is said to be the single largest such consignment netted anywhere in the world in recent memory. The consignment found its way to India during the chaos that followed the takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban. The huge haul has thrown up another question: why has Gujarat become the most preferred gateway to India for drug smugglers? Pakistan’s proximity to the Mundra port could be the reason as the contraband of such huge quantity is often sent to Gujarat port to facilitate further smuggling. Last year 100 kilos of heroin were recovered from a Sri Lankan boat which had received the consignment from a dhow in Karachi. Further search by the Coast Guard led to the recovery of five 9mm pistols and a satellite phone set. The clandestine drug trade is very rampant and the seizure is only a tip of the iceberg of illicit drug trade. According to the preliminary probe, crew members told the Coast Guard the contraband was transferred to the Sri Lankan vessel ShenyaDuwa on the high seas near Karachi by a Pakistani dhow. The consignment was to be ferried to western countries and Australia. Pakistan could be behind sending this contraband consignment to fund terrorism in several nations. The Lashkar-e-Tayyaba (LeT) and the Hizbul Mujahideed(HM) in the past used narcotics to fund their terror campaign in Kashmir. Two years ago, the Coast Guard foiled an attempt by Pakistan to smuggle heroin worth over Rs. 500 crores. Now what pains everyone is the fact that Pakistan has turned its attention to mint money by hook or by crook. Like ‘there’s more than one way to skin a cat’, Pakistan has many options to mint foreign money, but they chose one of the surest and easiest methods of producing industrial cannabis and hemp. The plan so far is for Pakistan to grow plants that contain only legal levels of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), about 0.3 percent or below. This will keep them legal compliance in the market and allow them to enter the cannabidiol (CBD) industry. The hemp seeds will be used for producing oil, leaves for medicine, and even fibres made from hemp stems to help replace cotton. Under the cover of this plan, Pakistan can produce narcotics and sell them secretly. Its role in drug proliferation has already been validated by several arrests of its nationals in other countries on charges of drug trafficking. Besides, Pakistan leaves no stone unturned to take advantage of its geographical location next to Afghanistan, the world’s largest producer of opium, and the region named the Golden Crescent of South Asia comprising of Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan is a principal site for the production and distribution of opium and heroin. Moreover, Pakistan provides a vital transit route for smuggling of drugs worth 30 billion dollars from neighbouring Afghanistan.