Drug smuggling has increased, deeper probe needed: Amit Shah

A drug addict is not a criminal, but a victim, home minister Amit Shah has said. Speaking at the west and central region meeting on drug trafficking and national security in Gandhinagar on Wednesday, Shah said the entire network of drugs should be destroyed by attacking the source and destination of drugs. A top to bottom and bottom to top approach was required.

Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa and Union territories of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu have a vast coastline. Additionally, Gujarat, along with Rajasthan, shares its border with Pakistan. There has been an increase in smuggling of south central Asian heroin through the sea. Increasing cases of heroin smuggled through the Indo-Pak border too was a matter of concern, Shah said.

"Major drug smuggling issues in the western states include increasing maritime smuggling of heroin from the west coast, illegal cultivation of narcotics - opium, ganja and poppy, use of couriers and parcels in drug smuggling and dark net and crypto. There is an increase in drug smuggling through currency," Shah said. Narcotics was eating up our youth like termites and narco-money was funding terrorism.