The Union government on Wednesday acknowledged that Punjab continues to face a serious threat from cross-border drug trafficking and narco-terrorism, with smuggling networks increasingly using GPS-enabled drones, encrypted communication platforms and forged KYC-based SIM cards to evade law enforcement.
Responding to an unstarred question in the Rajya Sabha by MP Tarun Chugh, minister of state for home affairs Nityanand Rai said Punjab’s proximity to the international border makes it particularly vulnerable to cross-border smuggling, where narcotics trafficking has evolved into an organised network linked to illegal arms supply and terror financing.
To strengthen coordination among enforcement agencies, the Centre has established a four-tier Narco Coordination Centre (NCORD) mechanism, bringing together Central ministries, state governments and law enforcement agencies for regular coordination against drug trafficking and narco-terrorism.
The government also informed Parliament that a Joint Coordination Committee (JCC) has been constituted to monitor significant drug trafficking and narco-terrorism cases. So far, four state-level JCC meetings have been conducted in Punjab by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) to improve coordination among central and state agencies in tackling organised drug syndicates and their alleged terror-financing links.
As part of its strategy to strengthen enforcement in the border state, the NCB has opened zonal and regional offices in Amritsar to enhance operational capability and coordination with Punjab Police, the Border Security Force (BSF) and other intelligence and enforcement agencies operating in border districts.
{{/usCountry}}As part of its strategy to strengthen enforcement in the border state, the NCB has opened zonal and regional offices in Amritsar to enhance operational capability and coordination with Punjab Police, the Border Security Force (BSF) and other intelligence and enforcement agencies operating in border districts.
{{/usCountry}}The Centre said inter-agency cooperation has also been reinforced through regular intelligence sharing, joint operational planning and coordinated enforcement involving the NCB, BSF, Punjab Police, State Anti-Narcotics Task Force, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), National Investigation Agency (NIA), Enforcement Directorate (ED) and other agencies. Simultaneously, border surveillance has been strengthened with advanced technologies, anti-drone systems and closer coordination between the BSF and Punjab Police to curb cross-border smuggling of narcotics and arms.
On intelligence gathering, the government said identifying inter-state and cross-border drug trafficking networks under the NCORD framework is an ongoing process. Whenever such networks are detected in Punjab, the information is shared with the concerned agencies for appropriate action.
To improve convictions in narcotics and narco-terrorism cases, the Centre said it has focused on strengthening investigations, conducting financial probes to identify and confiscate proceeds of crime, enhancing forensic support, training enforcement personnel, and ensuring closer coordination between investigating agencies and prosecutors for effective presentation of evidence before courts.