Action must against those selling drugs 'pudiya', narcotics traders sitting abroad: Amit Shah

New Delhi, Sep 16 (PTI) Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday said the time has come to bring those who run drug trade in India by sitting abroad and stressed that the Narendra Modi government is determined to wipe out all kinds of narcotics from the nation.

Addressing the second national conference of heads of Anti-Narcotics Task Force (ANTF) of states and Union territories, he also said that strict action is being taken against drugs cartels which are smuggling and selling drugs 'pudiya' (small packets) in 'paan' shops or kiosks.

Shah said a triangular strategy has to be adopted in the fight against drugs.

"For the drug supply chain, we should have a ruthless approach, a strategic approach in demand reduction, and a human approach in harm reduction. The ANTF should move forward with these three approaches," he said.

The two-day conference, organised by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), began here on Tuesday.

Shah said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set a target of 2047 to make India a fully developed and great nation.

To achieve this, the country has to be fully secure, he said.

"The Modi government is determined to wipe out the drug menace from the country and is making all-out efforts to achieve this goal," Shah said.

"PM Modi has set forth the vision of creating an India by 2047 that will be the world's number one in every aspect and fully developed -- a nation secure enough that no one can penetrate. For this, our youth are the biggest hope, and if they are determined, nothing is impossible, as they are the foundation of any nation," he said.

Shah said the time has come to bring those people within the ambit of the law who sit abroad and run the drug trade in the country.

"The CBI has done very good work for this. I appeal to all heads of the ANTF that with the help of the CBI, they should make the arrangement for the extradition of fugitives here. This will not only help in breaking the narcotics gangs but also terrorism gangs too," he said.

The home minister said action is also being taken against those involved in the retail trade of drugs.

"Strict action is being taken against those cartels operating at all entry points of the country, cartels distributing from entry points to states, and cartels operating at the level of making and selling drugs 'pudiya' up to 'paan; shops or kiosks," he said.

Shah said the time has come to deal a big blow to these three types of cartels.

"I believe that it can happen only when the officers responsible for working against drugs decide to take strong action against them," he said.

According to Shah, in some parts of the world, people have seen the link between a nation's development and the challenge of drug abuse. "Unfortunately, two of the regions from where drugs are supplied globally are very close to us. So this is the time that we fight against it strongly." The home minister said it is very important to save the young generation from drugs to achieve the goal of a fully developed India as the foundation of any great state is its young generation.

He said during the previous UPA government tenure, drugs worth Rs 40,000 crore were seized, whereas under the NDA government, over the past 10 years, drugs worth Rs 1,65,000 crore have been seized, which is a very significant achievement.

"But making numbers in the fight against drugs is not our goal. Our goal is to build an India where the need to create such numbers doesn't even arise. This will be possible through a top-to-bottom and bottom-to-top approach," he said.

Referring to the 'Narcotics-Free India' campaign carried out by the NCB, Shah said it has a decisive role for ANTF.

"Until every district, police of every district and the education officer of every district become sensitive towards this campaign, this campaign cannot be successful," he said.

At the event, Shah also set in motion the process of destroying 1.37 lakh kg of narcotic substances worth Rs 4,794 crore seized in different parts of the country.

On Monday, Shah said the Modi government was determined to eradicate the menace of drugs by uniting all ANTFs. He also released the NCB's annual report 2024.

The NCB has been actively coordinating with the GST department, state drug controllers, Income Tax authorities and financial institutions to uncover the full extent of the drug diversion network. PTI ACB ZMN