Narco-Coordination Centre leads J&K’s fight against drug menace

Srinagar, Aug 14: Illegal drugs and narcotics remain a pressing issue with far-reaching consequences, encompassing health, social, and economic dimensions that affect individuals, families, and the community on a profound level.

According to an official press release, the J&K government is committed to fight the drug menace through a coordinated and multi-pronged approach which includes prevention, enforcement, treatment and rehabilitation and IEC strategies.

The steps taken to address the problem of illegal drugs and narcotics are being reviewed under the Narco-Coordination Centre (NCORD) mechanism through regular meetings of J&K NCORD chaired by the Chief Secretary.

The forum has been committed to ensuring the adoption of a “zero tolerance policy” against drug trafficking to curb the menace of drugs by strengthening institutional structure, coordination among all narco agencies and extensive public awareness campaigns. In the 10th UT level NCORD meeting held recently, various issues were discussed and instructions were issued to all the concerned departments and organisations.

Among these directions, the law enforcement agencies, particularly the J&K Police have been instructed to ensure intelligence sharing, strict action, and effective and lacuna-free investigation in all cases of drug trafficking.

The NCORD has emphasized leveraging information from the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the NIDAAN portal to target drug peddlers more effectively.

Significant Law Enforcement Achievements

In its efforts against drug abuse, the J&K Police has achieved substantial results, marked by rigorous law enforcement actions, large-scale seizures, effective judicial proceedings and extensive community engagement. Since 2023, a total of 3190 cases have been registered and 4536 persons have been arrested in the crackdown against illegal narcotic trade network. To break the supply chain, the Law Enforcing Authorities have invoked the PIT NDPS Act against the drug kingpins, resulting in 463 orders of detention over the last 18 months.

This has been supplemented with swift intelligence resulting in the interception and seizure of huge amounts of commercial quantities. During the year 2023, the number of commercial quantity seizures was 319, whereas, the figure for the year 2024 upto June stands at 110. To prevent pilferage of seized narcotics, drugs are disposed of through court-ordered incineration. In 2023, 29,306 kg of drugs and 74,179 pharmaceuticals were destroyed, with 4,365 kg of drugs and 26,772 pharmaceuticals destroyed in the first half of 2024.

Addressing Link Between Narcotics and Terrorism

This government acknowledges the need to arrest the linkage between narcotics and terrorism and this has manifested in the crackdown on narco terror networks involving the arrest of 39 persons in 19 cases during the past one and a half years.

Given the seriousness of the issue, all law enforcement agencies have been instructed to adopt stringent measures that include the attachment of properties in NDPS cases to disrupt the drug trafficking networks financially. In a total of 43 such cases, the J&K Police has attached residential houses, landed property, and vehicles amounting to Rs 10.36 Crores cases since 2023.

Enhanced Regulation and Monitoring

J&K level NCORD has also laid stress on strict regulation of the sale of psychotropic substances and other related drugs through the introduction of Computerised Billing System (CBS) and CCTV installations across all drug markets of wholesale and retail license holders, through Drug Control Organisation and Health and Medical Education Department.

Besides, the Committee has also instructed the Excise Department as well as the district authorities to monitor the details of the land being used for the cultivation of contraband substances so that effective action is taken in the matter. In this regard, the J&K Police has undertaken significant efforts to destroy illicit crops, particularly poppy and cannabis. During 2023, illegal cultivation of poppy and cannabis over 9448 kanal of land was destroyed by law enforcement agencies.

The government has ensured zero-tolerance against government employees found involved in drug trafficking and illegal narcotics trade. All such cases have been compiled and based on the instructions issued during the J&K level NCORD meeting, the concerned departments have been asked to initiate strict departmental action in each case.

Commitment to Rehabilitation and Awareness

On the rehabilitation front, the government has taken substantial measures like the establishment of de-addiction centres. Other than the 04 drug de-addiction centres of the Social Welfare Department and 21 Health and Additional Treatment Facilities (ATFs), the police department has also established 10 drug de-addiction centres. In the year 2023, there have been a total of 14180 OPDs and 1931 IPD treatments.

These figures for 2024 upto June stand at 5318 and 561 respectively. Besides, six private drug de-addiction centres are functioning within J&K.

The J&K level NCORD has instructed to ensure strict implementation of SOPs for monitoring the activities of drug de-addiction centres besides taking action against such centres operating in the private sector which do not meet such requirements.

Besides, the Health and Medical Education Department has also been asked to explore the possibilities of supplementing the resources of the centers being managed by J&K Police and Social Welfare Department. DIAL 104 Call Centre by National Health Mission is holding online counselling and Tele-Manas (Telephonic psychological counselling at 14416 is operational for helping those affected by the drug abuse.

Mass awareness programs to particularly educate the youth against the detrimental effects of drug abuse are being conducted through various agencies of the government besides collaborations with NGOs and civil society groups. During the year 2023, 19008 awareness programs were organized.

The J&K level NCORD has been consistently monitoring the progress made under the Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyan (NMBA) aimed at reaching out to the masses and spreading awareness about substance abuse, both through Panchayats and Urban Local Bodies. Under the Abhiyan, 940 Panchayats and ULBs have been declared drug-free under the ambit of SOP framed by the Government.

The committee has issued instructions to the Health and Medical Education Department to detail all the rehabilitation measures under operation through the Mission Youth and Social Welfare Department so that there is an effective rehabilitation of those involved in substance abuse through skill development and employment generation.

In terms of the established mechanism, district-level NCORD meetings are also being regularly held under the chairmanship of District Magistrates for better coordination among different organizations to deal with the issue of drug trafficking and substance abuse.

During the year 2023, 193 number of District NCORD meetings have been held.

The government remains resolute in its mission to combat drug-related crime and support community well-being, reflecting a strong commitment to maintaining public safety and disrupting illicit narcotics networks.