While speaking at the west and central region meeting on drug trafficking and national security in Gujarat, India’s Home Minister Amit Shah says drug trafficking via the dark web and cryptocurrency has surged, along with terrorism financing.
Shah stated, “Major drug smuggling issues in the western states include increasing maritime smuggling of heroin from the west coast, illegal cultivation of narcotics – opium, ganja, and poppy, use of couriers and parcels in drug smuggling and dark net and crypto. There is an increase in drug smuggling through currency.”
The amount of heroin being smuggled via the sea from south-central Asia has increased. According to Shah, the rise in heroin smuggling instances via the Indo-Pak border is also a cause for concern.
Three digital asset management firms have reportedly come under the Enforcement Directorate’s attention, according to reports. The exchanges allegedly assisted in 28,000 crores INR, more than $3 billion in illegal narcotics sales, so Amit Shah’s concerns are valid.
According to Shah, on the one hand, drugs devour youth like termites and, on the other, the illegal money from the drug trade feeds terrorism.
He claimed that in order to protect youngsters and stop the financing of terrorists, all federal and state agencies must engage in a joint effort and succeed in this fight.
Shah says a drug user is a victim rather than a criminal. He emphasized the necessity to tackle both the drug’s source and its destination by using top-to-bottom and bottom-to-top strategies, in order to dismantle the entire drug network.
The Home Minister also noted the importance of strictly enforcing the NDPS Act’s numerous sections. In Shah’s presence, more than 13 tonnes of seized drugs worth $76 million were destroyed on Wednesday.
As the amount of clout the industry is getting is on the rise, crypto-related crimes are also increasing in an exponential manner. Last month, the Indian police in Maharashtra state arrested one man for cheating 1,441 investors in a fake crypto scam worth $31.2 Million.
