Cop caught amid 'war on drug' rhetoric
- The People's Chronicle Editorial :: April 05, 2022 -

IT'S an irony that a team of Tengnoupal district police was rewarded with cash for seizing a consignment of contraband brown sugar estimated to worth over Rs 2 crore in the international on Saturday and arresting two smugglers, one of whom turned out to be their own uniform colleague.

The involvement of the police personnel in smuggling drugs and other contraband goods is not the first time for there had been more than a handful of cases in the past when foot soldiers as well as ranked security personnel were caught red-handed transporting banned items, assisting the peddlers and even extorting from the smugglers to absolve them from facing the law.

While sincerity and efficiency of dedicated men and women in uniform helped exposed misadventure of rogue elements within the security establishment, possibility of many others managing to evade arrest despite involvement in drug trade cannot be ruled out taking into account of the fact that the narcotics drug supply chain in Manipur remains unbroken.

While cases of drug overdose deaths have seen significant decline compared to the mid-1980s and early 1990s during which use of non-standard injecting devices made it difficult to measure the dose precisely, significant increase in the number of rehabilitation centres and many addicts undergoing recovery process indicate that the rate of substance abuse is not slowing down.

Without an iota of doubt seizure of psychotropic drugs almost on a daily basis from different parts of the state also corroborates that Manipur is being used as the primary route of transportation.

Due to its geographical location in the eastern-most corner of the country, Manipur is being projected as the gateway to the thriving Southeast Asia but for drug peddlers, proximity of the border state to the notorious golden triangle, the long stretches of unfenced borders and its mountainous terrain are all seen as a huge advantage to outwit the law enforcement agencies.

To be candid, destruction or stopping of poppy cultivations wouldn't be a difficult task in case the government makes good use of the drone technology, promptly despatches security teams wherever the plantation sites have been identified and convince the village authorities to contribute their mite in the fight 'war on drugs' campaign.

However, efforts to stop the drug smuggling activities from across the border would reap the fruit if the security personnel have firm resolve to sincerely discharge their duty and the government authorities sanction installation of technologically advanced detection machinery and deploy trained manpower in adequate numbers.

Moreover, while it is obvious that drug dealers would be enticed to take advantage of the porous borders and presence of corruptible officers or personnel of law enforcement agencies to amass wealth; swift, stern and exemplary punishment of all the drug peddlers might help achieve the goal of 'war on drugs' campaign.

The latest arrest of the drug-peddler constable of Churachandpur district police testifies that the law enforcement personnel have to always maintain top vigil as it is obvious that the public would suspect their commitment to serve the state and the people whenever rogue elements hog the limelight.