Need to move beyond 'War on Drugs' : Go for the big fishes!
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: December 09, 2021 -

There are just too many loose ends and perhaps it would be better for the people, the place and the State Government to move one up from the catchy slogan 'War on Drugs'.

The cry or slogan sounds impressive and the latest drug catch will surely come under the coverage of this 'War Cry' but yet there are still so many questions which have not been answered.

Questions which The Sangai Express had raised on more than one occasion and will repeat again.

This is perhaps the right time to try and furnish some answers for shortly Manipur will be going to polls and at least a fraction of the population can decide where their vote goes on the question of how sincerely the 'War on Drugs' is being pursued or carried out.

This question is raised in the backdrop of the recent seizure of 'suspected' heroin and crystal meth worth more than Rs 500 crore in the international market.

One suspect, a native of neighbouring Myanmar, has been reportedly arrested in connection with the drug seizure, but the important question is, 'Will the story of this particular drug seizure end with this?'

A drug consignment worth over Rs 500 crore in the international market could not have been the work of some petty drug pushers in the alleys of Imphal or elsewhere but definitely points to the existence of a much bigger network of operatives.

So many times, the Assam Rifles and the State Police come out with official statements that so and so individuals have been arrested while trying to smuggle heroin or some other drugs along the Imphal-Moreh route.

This is fine, but how about the big fishes? Common sense says that a petty drug pusher or a smuggler cannot be the people behind such a racket.

It surely points to the presence of a huge network of drug cartels, people who have the resources and the means to ferry or smuggle drugs involving such a huge amount of money.

Questions also ought to be raised on how long it took to store such a huge consignment of drugs. Most probably a drug consignment worth over Rs 500 crore could not have been smuggled and stored in one single trip.

This is common sense and the question therefore is how long did it take for the smugglers to smuggle in the drugs and where was it intended to be taken?

The police must have already started working on the case from these angles but the interesting part is whether the further findings will ever be made known to the public or not? Can one expect a press conference on when the finer details of the case are worked out?

There is the need to give more teeth to the slogan 'War on Drugs' and to get going towards this direction, the Government would need to start unraveling the mastermind/s behind such a racket.

Some important questions have already been raised and it is important that these posers are not swept under the carpet or else the 'War on Drugs' slogan will remain just that-an empty war cry.

Suspected heroin or suspected brown sugar or suspect WY tablets etc. The key word here is suspected.

One understand why the police and the Assam Rifles have always stuck to this one key word but isn't there the need to confirm this when the laboratory test is conducted or when the necessary procedures are finalised?

The word 'suspected' can be crucial for loopholes may be found in the usage of this term and this is one point which can be used to one's advantage when the time comes.

And druglords can be expected to minutely study every single word used when their 'goodies' are seized.

Can the State Government afford to take chances? Everyone talk about the scourge of drugs on society and while Manipur may be taken as a transit zone from the Golden Triangle to the rest of the country and beyond, some specks of the drugs are sure to stay here and find its way in the alleys of the places which are infamous.

There is no need to name such places here. The seizure of such a huge quantity of drugs is taken note of and while the police and the Assam Rifles certainly deserve to be acknowledged for the good show, it should not be forgotten that much more needs to be done.

For starters keep the people informed of the later developments and reveal the identities of the big fishes who are behind the drugs consignment.

Arresting a 19 year old boy along with the drugs cannot be the answer.

Go for the big fishes.