Union home minister Amit Shah on Tuesday called for a whole-of-region approach to tackle drug smuggling and sought cooperation from Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) member countries. He underlined that the illicit funds generated from drugs are used in financing organised crimes and terrorism.
Shah, who last month announced the goal of dismantling drug networks to make India drug- free, reiterated that smugglers have changed their strategy and are using encrypted communication, social media, drones, cryptocurrency and the dark web. “India has always believed in sovereignty and peaceful resolutions to any dispute. This is not just drug smuggling but is something that is affecting the lives of our youths, our culture, and our future… India has begun fencing the India-Myanmar border.
In its annual report released in June, India’s Narcotics Control Bureau said Myanmar overtook Afghanistan as the world’s largest illicit opium producer after the Taliban’s 2022 poppy ban, due to a decade-high production amid economic collapse, civil war and the 2021 military takeover.
Shah said India does not believe in supremacy over any country. We are committed to cooperate and face challenges emanating from global terrorism, organised crime and narco-trade,” he said. Shah referred to the so-called Golden Triangle, the smuggling route encompassing Myanmar, Laos and Thailand, and said there is nothing golden about it. …we prefer to call it the death triangle. Shah said the proceeds from drug trafficking provide financial strength to organised crime and are also used to finance terrorism. “The diversion of precursor chemicals and transactions through the dark web make this challenge even more complex.”
“India has always adopted a zero tolerance policy against terrorism. The trust in our cooperation is strengthened by the sense that the security mechanism of every member country becomes helpful in the security of other member countries.
Our mutual resolution should be to ensure that there is no scope or space for harbouring, recruiting, training, procuring resources, or carrying out activities against neighbouring nations in any part of the region…” he said at the first meeting of BIMSTEC home ministers in New Delhi. Earlier reporting noted: Addressing the first Home Ministers’ Meeting of BIMSTEC countries here, Shah said India follows a policy of zero tolerance towards terrorism. Earlier reporting noted: He said the trust underlying the partnership of BIMSTEC countries is strengthened by the belief that the security arrangements of each member country should contribute to the security of the other members.
On Monday, the government said the meeting of the home ministers and top officers of BIMSTEC countries underscores shared resolve to combat terrorism, transnational organised crime, narcotics radicalisation, trafficking, illicit financial flows, and cyber threats. Earlier reporting noted: Ensure terror networks do not find haven in region: Shah to BIMSTEC countries New Delhi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday called for stronger regional cooperation among BIMSTEC countries to combat terrorism, disrupt terrorist financing and organised crime, and ensure that terrorist networks do not find a haven in the region.
