Union home minister Amit Shah on Saturday said the dark web, cryptocurrency, online marketplaces and drones continue to pose a challenge for the country and called on all states to collaborate with the Centre in the fight against the drug trafficking menace.
Chairing a regional conference in Delhi on drug trafficking and national security, Shah flagged growing concern about drug trafficking and its impact on national security, with a special focus on eight states and Union Territories of northern India that included Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Chandigarh, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
He said the government has not only been successful in eliminating many networks of drugs but also the terrorism linked with them. He said many cases of narco-terrorism were busted in Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh.
"The use of dark web, cryptocurrency, online marketplace, drones continue to be a challenge for us even today," he said.
The minister said a technical solution to these problems needed to be found through joint efforts by the states and the central government and technocrats for the country's security and development.
The home minister said that in 2024, by seizing drugs worth ₹16,914 crore, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and police across the country took the biggest action against drugs, which is a significant step in making a drug-free society.
"No country can move forward on the path of development with a young generation suffering from drug addiction. It is our responsibility that we all fight this challenge together and make all efforts to win this battle," he said.
The NCB should train all state government's narcotics units and prosecution teams to ensure a cent per cent conviction rate in drug cases, he said. "State governments must take the lead in establishing special courts so that delays in the action on registered cases do not hinder the fight against drugs."
The main focus of the conference was on the sharing of real-time information from the National Narcotics Helpline Manas portal with the anti-Narcotics task force (ANTF) of states and UTs, evaluating the progress of states in combating drug trafficking and assessing the effectiveness of the Narcotics Coordination Mechanism (NCORD).
The home ministry is implementing a three-pronged strategy to achieve a drug-free India by 2047. This includes strengthening institutional frameworks, enhancing coordination among narcotics agencies and launching a public awareness campaign.
The conference is being attended by governors, lieutenant governors, chief ministers and senior officers from the eight participating states and UTs, besides senior officers from central ministries, departments, and law enforcement agencies attended the conference.