[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index ][Thread Index ]

Drug smugglers opt for 'safe' route



Subject: Drug smugglers opt for 'safe' routes in NorthEast India

Drug smugglers opt for ?safe? routes in North East India

By Anirban Roy, From Telegraph Newspaper, August 25, 1999
Guwahati, Aug. 24:

Drugs smugglers in the Northeast are now opting for ?new routes? for
?safe shipment? of their consignments from Myanmar. Intelligence sources
here said the smugglers have chalked out a number of ?new? strategies to
offset loses. ?And opting for new routes is one of them,? sources said.

Till recently, drug smuggling was reportedly confined to three
traditional routes ­ Moreh (in Manipur), Champhai (in Mizoram) and the
Pangsau Pass (in Arunachal Pradesh), sources said. ?But recently, we
came to know about some non-conventional routes being used by
smugglers,? a senior intelligence official said. ?The arrest of a lady
carrying 300 kg of ephedrine from a village near Churachandpur in
Manipur on August 18 has brought to light that the entire consignment,
which was produced in Hyderabad, was about to be shipped to Myanmar
through Chapikarong in Chandel district,? the official said.

Sources said the arrested smuggler has also confessed that they have
started smuggling their consignments through Behang in Chandel district.
?These non-traditional routes are through the rugged terrain and
deployment of security personnel is also very thin in these areas,? the
official said adding that the consignments are mostly carried as
headloads.

?We have reports that members of Mong Tai army are involved in the
import of ephedrine from India,? the official said. The Mong Tai army,
raised by Khun Sa, a drug lord of the Golden Triangle, still smuggle
narcotics, the official said. Sources said on the basis of the seizures,
the officials have been able to estimate that on an average, over 1,000
kg of ephedrine is smuggled out to Myanmar through the porous border
every month.

The official said the ephedrine consignment, which reaches Myanmar, is
shipped to the refineries along the Myanmar-Thailand border for the
production of Amphetamine. ?At the same time, the number four variety
(refined heroin) is also entering the northeastern states from Myanmar
through the same routes,? he said. Officials said the drug smugglers in
Myanmar are also using Mizoram as a corridor for transshipping
ephedrine.
?This is a new development,? customs official based at Aizawl said. On
July 4, this year, they seized 73 kg of ephedrine from an ex-serviceman
from the Chatlang area of Aizawl. Amphetamine, a brain stimulant, which
is produced in Myanmar is smuggled out to Europe, where it is in great
demand, sources said. The officials of the state excise department also
seized 248 kg of ephedrine this year.