Change in strategy to choke supply routes advised
By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, April 21: Shillong and other parts of Meghalaya continue to grapple with the drug menace despite crackdowns.
This had made some officials dealing with the problem believe that choking the drug supply routes would be more efficient than going after the addicts primarily in the urban centres.
Some of them told The Shillong Times on Monday that the kingpins of the drug trade are either located in Myanmar or Manipur, and only the retailers are operating in Meghalaya.
“The involvement of influential people in the North East in the drug trade cannot be ruled out. The best way is to gather intelligence and intercept consignments on the highways and other routes during transportation in the state,” one of the officials said.
The sources said it was easier to catch drug suppliers in Shillong a few years ago, but most of them have left the state capital to control the trade through retailers. The aggressive war on drugs in Assam is one of the reasons behind the change in strategy. “Earlier, Khliehriat was the main destination for the drugs that came from southern Assam. The poor condition of the National Highway has made the suppliers bring drugs into Meghalaya from Guwahati in night super buses and other public vehicles in one or two soap cases,” the official said.
Government officials admit it is difficult to check vehicles on the Guwahati-Shillong road due to the high volume of traffic. “We need to strengthen security at the entry points,” an official said, adding that the Lum Survey area is the hotspot for drugs in Shillong.
The officials, however, said the drug menace can be checked if 4,000-5,000 addicts in the city are detained at one go and sent to de-addiction or rehabilitation centres.
Meghalaya shares a 884 km boundary with Assam and a 443 km border with Bangladesh. The state is also not far from the Golden Triangle – the opium-producing belt comprising Myanmar, northwestern Thailand, and northern Laos. Heroin, cannabis, methamphetamine, and other drugs find their way into Meghalaya from Myanmar, a country torn by civil war, through Manipur and Mizoram. These contraband items are trafficked to Bangladesh and other parts of India through Meghalaya.