BENGALURU: Narcotics smuggling is usually done via courier. But smugglers have found another route: the humble Indian Postal Service. The home minister said in the assembly that this is a worrying trend.
Narcotic drugs, which are available in the form of chocolates, tea and beedas, are entering the state through Indian Postal Service and also courier agencies, Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai told the House.
“Drugs coming through the Indian Postal Service is a worrying trend. In one such case, some postal department officials were involved and we arrested four people. This apart, drug peddlers are also using courier agencies. We are keeping a tight watch, but sometimes they outwit us. Drugs are mostly flowing in from other countries,” the Home Minister said.
The state government has declared a war against narcotic drugs and is taking steps to contain the use of dark web by anti-social elements to push drugs and arms and even run prostitution rackets, the minister said.The dark web is working in the state of Karnataka and recently, the Bengaluru CCB team busted a racket, Bommai said.
“The dark web is like any other search engine, but not all can access it as it’s only by invitation. The access is double and triple coded,” he said. He was replying to Sarvagnanagar MLA K J George’s concern that the number of drug peddlers in his constituency has increased. Bommai said that in 2019, 1,652 cases were registered under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, about 600 cases more than the previous year.
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Drug peddling is a menace, especially around schools and colleges. “We appeal to parents to keep an eye on their children. This has to be tackled in many ways. We cannot just conduct raids and show the number of seizure cases. We have to take a hard approach. We are taking the help of Pink Hoysalas, which do the beat rounds, to keep a watch on the sale of drugs on the roadside,” he said.
There is an increase in the use of synthetic drugs which come in the form of chocolates or even beedas. “We have arrested people from Canada, the Netherlands, Africa and other countries,” he said.
George said that the drug menace is more dangerous than coronavirus. “CCB alone cannot do it, we need special dedicated teams,’’ he said. Bommai said they have started eight Cyber Economic Narcotics (CEN) police stations to monitor the sale of narcotic drugs and cyber crimes in Bengaluru. “Each district will have one such station,” he said, adding that the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985 needs to be updated.
War on dark we: The state government has declared a war against narcotics and is taking steps to contain the use of dark web by anti-social elements.
