Q\ In what ways has Assam emerged as a transit point for drugs coming from the Golden Triangle?
A\ Almost 90 per cent of the drugs coming into the country from the Golden Triangle—through the bordering states of Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Meghalaya and Nagaland—transit through Assam. But in the last 10 years, we are seeing that Assam has also increased its consumption. Assam has three entry points for narcotics. One from Nagaland border, another from Mizoram and the [third from the] hill districts of Arunachal Pradesh. The main interchange point in the northeast is Guwahati, from where drugs are further transported to the entire country. After huge quantities of heroin and other drugs were seized and destroyed, the drug mafia shifted storage facilities to bordering states. We are also seeing that the drug mafia is increasingly using women to transport drugs. In a recent instance, the drugs were hidden in a baby’s diaper.
Q\ There is criticism that the Assam Police have become trigger-happy and are shooting down criminals, causing a sudden spurt in encounters.
A\ We must understand that the profits from the drug trade are enormous, and hence the risk-taking appetite of drug traders is huge. My view is that if I can save lakhs of lives by taking the harshest possible action within the ambit of the law, then I am willing to do that. I will not hesitate to say that we will use maximum force to stop drug peddling.
Q\ How big is the nexus between insurgent groups and the narcos?
A\ In Assam, it is mostly the medium-level drug mafia that operates, as the top leadership is in Myanmar and other neighbouring countries. But many criminal activities are going on in the northeast like drug and arms smuggling, wildlife crimes like rhino and tiger poaching and even bank robberies and loot. Ultimately, all these crimes merge, and there is sharing of profits and utilising each other’s resources by all organised crime syndicates and insurgent groups sitting in Myanmar, Manipur and Nagaland. So far, we have not seen the involvement of militant groups based out of Assam in the drug trade. It is mainly the insurgent groups in Manipur, Nagaland and Myanmar that are involved.