Nagaland police arrested 560 for smuggling liquor, banned drugs in 18 months

Kohima: Nagaland police has arrested 560 people for smuggling liquor and banned drugs during the last 18 months, a senior police officer said on Monday. The police had also seized 9,711 kg of ganja, 63.75 kg of opium, 12 grams of heroin, 4.5 kg of brown sugar, 1 kg of Yaba, 5,27,626 spasmo proxyvon capsules, 12,297 bottles of cough syrup and 2,02,919 bottles of India Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) during this period. [caption id=“attachment_265908” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters[/caption] This was revealed by Inspector General of Police (Crime) Kewetso Mero while speaking on the occasion of International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking here. The IGP said the seizures may be the tip of the iceberg only while much more must be entering the state, but “we do not have the manpower, gadgets and the knowledge to identify and detect such materials”. Mero stated that Nagaland is primarily used as a conduit route by drug traffickers due to its close proximity to the Golden Triangle, especially with Myanmar. “The onus on the law enforcement agencies is not only to undertake preventive work by apprehending drug traffickers but also to sensitise the masses against the effects of drug abuse,” he said. The IGP said not only is the state being used as a route for trafficking but local people in the state are slowly and discreetly turning to cultivation especially the cannabis. This trend needs to be addressed urgently and taken seriously by all sections of society, he said. Speaking at the seminar project director of Nagaland State AIDS Control Society, Dr Nganshimeren said the problem of drug trafficking needs to be tackled on two fronts by reducing the supply chain by the law enforcement agencies and also to reduce the social demand of the abusive drugs by creating awareness about the ill effects of drug abuse among the population both at government and NGO levels. Director of Kripa Foundation, Abou Mere urged the state government to put into the force the Nagaland State Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Policy 2016. Dr Niekiesalie Nicky Kire, MLA in his address suggested that all the legislators need to be briefed about the menace of drug abuse and support from the government towards the establishment of detox and drug treatment centres in all the districts of the state.