Though this is not a new development, the huge quantity of drugs or narcotics seized in these interceptions has sent disturbing signals regarding the fragile security and questionable check-gate system as well as the sheer grit and determination displayed by the smugglers in this clandestine and lucrative business. 

These tablets and powders were hidden behind egg cartons. Total value of the contraband goods have been valued at approximately Rs 45 crore.

According to BSF sources, one truck  with Pseudoephedrine tablets from a Delhi transport company was on its way to the border town of Karimganj and from there the consignments were to be smuggled into Bangladesh and finally through the Mizoram route to Myanmar. It was on the basis of specific information of the intelligence wing that a combined team of BSF troops of 115 and 142 Battalion headed by two officers and sector officers as well as the men from the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) Silchar intercepted the Tata truck bearing the registration number HR- 46 B-0659 at around 4.30 pm in the evening of the 8th of  March at Katigorah. After a thorough search of the vehicle, a total of 1757 kgs of Pseudoephedrine tablets as well as powders were seized. The consignments consisted of 1714.716 kgs of tablets and 42.284 kgs of powder in crystalline form. These tablets and powders were hidden behind egg cartons. Total value of the contraband goods have been valued at approximately Rs 45 crore. The owner of the truck Ramesh Kumar and the driver Satpal Singh, both from Haryana, along with the consignee, Abdul Wahab (28) of Kanaisal under the police station of Karimganj, were arrested.

On the following day, on the basis of the interrogations carried out on Abdul Wahab and the owner and driver of the truck, Ramesh and Satpal, the men from DRI assisted by BSF troops raided the Kanaisal residence of Abdul Salam who is Abdul Wahab’s father and who is believed to be the mastermind behind this smuggling business. Abdul Salam became a millionaire overnight and was on his way to become a billionaire and this has been gauged when one looks at his palatial building and the growing network of businesses just on the outskirts of the border town of Karimganj.

Behind the façade of his egg business, Abdul Salam was involved in the drug smuggling business with international links and making a fast buck from it. Quite strangely, the Karimganj police were completely in the dark about Abdul Salam’s flourishing drug business which was being carried out under their very noses and as such, questions have been raised about the collusion and connivance of the police. Though the raid by DRI and BSF was secretly planned, the disappearance of Salam from his residence at Kanaisal had raised questions about the role of the police in this illicit business.

After a thorough search of Abdul Salam’s godown, besides many incriminating documents, four mobile sets, one laptop and Salam’s international passport were also seized. Intelligence sleuths are examining the call registers to find out the link men and the possibility of carrying search operations in other locations and premises cannot be ruled out.

Close on the heels of seizure of these drugs in Katigorah in Cachar valued at Rs 45 crore came the seizure of another two consignments of contraband goods, one in Dholai market, also in Cachar and the other in the town of Karimganj on March 11, according to the BSF sources.

In fact, even before the security and intelligence agencies could unearth the intricacies behind  the ever expanding business in drugs, a joint operation by BSF Sector Silchar Headquarters and Aizawl, the customs of Silchar and Narcotics Control Bureau of Guwahati seized Pseudoephedrine tablets weighing 633 kgs valued at Rs 16.59 crore from a truck at Dholai Bazaar. From the confession of the driver, Md. Movin (23) and his assistant, Mujib Ahmed (28), it was revealed that the truck was moving from Delhi and was bound for Myanmar through Mizoram. Both the drivers along with the seized tablets were handed over to Dholai police for further action.  

On the following day, acting on a specific tip off from its intelligence wing, the 115 Battalion of the BSF intercepted a DLX Tata car in Karimganj on NH 44. The driver of the car Dulal Sabdakar (35) hailing from the village of Sarisa along the river Kushiara disclosed that the consignment was of 900 bottles of Phensidyl cough syrup, much in demand both in Bangladesh and Myanmar for its intoxicating effects. The value of the Phensidyl was estimated at Rs 72,000. After thorough interrogation, Dulal Sabdakar and the seized bottles of Phensidyl were handed over to the Karimganj police for further cross-examination and necessary legal action.

Trucks laden with contraband goods, drugs and money can slip past several check posts all the way from the national capital New Delhi to reach the remotest Barak Valley in the North East and on to Myanmar.

The North East in general has emerged as the conduit for this smuggling business with its easy access to the South East Asian countries. The arrest of an army officer identified as Colonel Ajay Choudhury, PRO of 57 Mountain Division, along with five of his cohorts at Pallel in the Thoubal district of Manipur, according to informed sources, is believed to be a part of the racket operating inside and outside the region. He was arrested with 25 cartons and 7 air bags with different brands of Pseudoephedrine tablets valued at Rs 20 crore.

These Pseudoephedrine tablets were to be smuggled out to Myanmar and the Colonel and his associates carrying them in three vehicles were moving from Imphal to Moreh, the entry point to Myanmar. Manipur police intercepted the Colonel and his convoy on the basis of intelligence inputs. The Pseudoephedrine tablets are used to make powerful stimulants and also for psychotropic drugs which are much in demand in Myanmar.
 
The frequency with which contraband goods are being seized raises many intriguing questions which need to be addressed seriously. Its manifestations can only be ignored at the cost of our internal security as well as its disastrous social impact. Quite significantly, the drug cartels with international links, which earlier took the traditional Manipur route, are now using the Mizoram corridor to smuggle these to Myanmar. The long porous Indo-Myanmar border makes it possible for drug-mafias to have a free run. Satyendra Narain Singh IPS, IG Law and Order of Assam, admitted before members of the media the menace of drug cartels in the region and the alertness of police to rein these in. But, then the question remains as to the relevance and effectiveness of the patrols and check-posts which are maintained at such a huge public cost.

Jyoti Lal Chowdhury