NEW DELHI: Popular streaming shows, Narcos and El-Chapo, demonstrated how America’s Drug Enforcement Administration (
DEA) brought down the empires of world’s top drug-terrorists’ -Pablo Escobar, the Cali Cartel and Joaquin Guzman.
Around 100 investigators from 50 central agencies and state police forces learnt about the operations of DEA, when its agents shared their ‘tactics’ and ‘best practices’ at the first National Conference on Drug Law Enforcement here at Vigyan Bhawan. The DEA was invited to share its experiences on drugs trafficking, which is increasing rapidly across the world and where new trends are being noticed—use of dark net, bitcoin and internet delivery and the emergence of new illegal trade routes.
Officials said that with cocaine from
South America making its way into India, it was considered important to call DEA for a session as it has vast experience in dealing with information networks, modus operandi, trade routes and assets of traffickers like
Pablo Escobar, El Chapo, Frank Lucas, Gilberto and
Miguel Rodriguez of Cali Cartel and others.
Indian investigating agencies, sources added, will remain in touch with DEA officials for future operations as India is vulnerable to drug trafficking because of its location between the two largest opium producing regions of the world —
Golden Crescent in the west (Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran) and Golden Triangle (Myanmar, Laos and Thailand) in the east.
CBI, ED, NIA, IB, R&AW, border guarding forces all attended the two-day conference, organised by Narcotics Control Bureau, and the investigators discussed the need to focus on the financial aspects of drugs smuggling. The government wants to seize the properties/bank accounts of drug traffickers. Home minister Rajnath Singh, while addressing the closing ceremony of the conference, said, “To stop the inflow of money generated from illegal trade of drugs into our economy, proper financial investigation needs to be conducted in each significant NDPS (anti-narcotics law) case.”
Representative Image
