By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Sep 21: Social Welfare Minister Paul Lyngdoh admitted in the Assembly on Thursday that the volume of drugs peddled into or through the state has been increasing. He said that a total of 1,518 individuals were arrested between 2010 and September this year in drug-related cases across the state.
Trial in 487 cases is pending while 50 people have been convicted and 36 acquitted, he said.
He was replying to a motion moved by VPP chief Ardent M Basaiawmoit on the menace of drugs and substance abuse.
Underlining Meghalaya’s proximity to the Golden Triangle, Lyngdoh said drug traffickers have been using the state as a transit route for the past few decades. Drugs brought into the state are no longer in small quantities unlike a few years ago, he added.
“The modus operandi of most of the drug traffickers is to target the students, as the state is a well-known educational hub of the Northeast. There have also been attempts to lure others into drug trafficking and consumption,” Lyngdoh said.
The drug dealers have also expanded beyond the urban confines of East Khasi Hills and Jaintia Hills to penetrate smaller areas in the Garo Hills, West Khasi Hills, and Ri-Bhoi districts, he said.
“The changing trend is evident from the fact that from 2010 to September 6, a total of 827 cases have been registered throughout the state, resulting in the arrest of 1,518 persons, including 158 women,” he informed the House.
“Chargesheets have been filed in 563 of the registered cases, 104 cases have been returned in the final report and the completion of investigation in 160 cases is pending,” Lyngdoh said, adding that trial is pending in 487 cases.
Fifty people have been convicted and 36 acquitted so far, he told the House.
The minister said the police have since 2010 seized about 36,665 grams of heroin, 11,290 kg of ganja or cannabis, 2,796 grams of opium, 93 kg of methamphetamine, 10 kg of crystal meth, 95,102 bottles of codeine, and 25.631 grams of other psychotropic substances.
The police also seized 287 vehicles, 881 mobile phones, Rs 2,84,93,503 in cash and six weapons during the almost 14-year period from 2010.
He attributed the continuous success of the police in detecting and seizing drugs largely to the efforts of the Anti-Narcotic Task Force (ANTF) at the district level and the ANTF at the state level.
In addition, 31 NGOs availed grant-in-aid from the state for carrying out anti-drugs activities during 2021-2022, Lyngdoh said. The activities include creating a drug-free environment in schools, colleges, and universities, increasing access to drug rehabilitation facilities, and providing support to families and individuals affected by drug abuse.
The minister highlighted the Central initiatives in combating drug abuse, such as the Nasha-Mukt Bharat campaign and said the state government has also taken innovative, collaborative measures to fight the menace of substance abuse.
“The state introduced the Drug Reduction, Elimination and Action Mission with a view to building a drug-free Meghalaya by leveraging culture and communities through a multifaceted coordinating strategy to eliminate the incidence of substance use,” he said.
He further said 2,834 injecting drug users in the state have approached different facilities for help till August. There were 3,175 injecting drug users in 2021-22, according to the p-MPSE (programmatic Mapping and Population Size Estimation).
Lyngdoh said steps are being taken to help these injecting drug users.
For instance, under the National AIDS Control Programme-V, the harm reduction campaign entailing needle exchange is running through seven targeted intervention NGOs in the state while the opioid substitute therapy is running through four such NGOs and five others set up by the government.
Lyngdoh said the coordinating of the state ANTF with central agencies such as the Central Customs, Information Bureau, Excise Department, and Border Security Force has helped detect drug trafficking along Meghalaya’s international and inter-state borders apart from the highways.
He said the government also notified the constitution of an Advisory Board on June 30 under the Prevention of Illicit Traffic in Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substance (PITNDPS) Act of 1988. The purpose of this Advisory Board is to deal with the detention of repeated offenders of drug trafficking according to the provisions of the Act.
“The police have so far submitted a proposal to initiate the detention of nine repeated offenders under the provisions of the PITNDPS Act,” he said.