According to the most recent report on smuggling in India by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), after a niche of a yr, Bihar has once more emerged because the state with the best variety of Ganja (Bhang) seizures.
In 2020-21, a complete of 13,446 kg of ganja was seized in Bihar in 12 instances, 9,001 kg in ten instances in Nagaland and eight,386 kg in six instances in UP.
In all, the DRI seized about 45 metric tonnes of ganja within the nation. Other states from the place important portions of ganja had been seized are Chhattisgarh, Telangana, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh.
According to the DRI report, the pandemic posed a brand new problem within the type of easy disguise strategies for gold and drug smuggling. It mentioned that courier and postal cargo emerged as essentially the most most popular mode of transport of medicine by smugglers in 2020-21.
Overall, the seizure pattern is seen as a manufacturing and consumption pattern, even because the DRI describes it as a “national security concern”. “DRI continued to confiscate ganja in FY 2020-21 as well, which is in line with the production and consumption of ganja in India,” the DRI report mentioned.
Hemp is regulated beneath the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. “It can also be a matter of nationwide safety concern because the areas concerned in smuggling of ganja are affected by Left Wing Extremism. The report mentioned that the unlawful proceeds from smuggling of ganja are utilized by such extremist teams to finance anti-national actions.
In 2018-19, the vast majority of seizures occurred in Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Assam. The states that topped the listing in 2019-20 had been UP, Maharashtra, Telangana and Tamil Nadu.
In the monetary yr 2019-20, the DRI had detected 412 instances of smuggling, leading to seizure of contraband price Rs 1,949 crore.
“A distinct trend is emerging from these seizures, which indicates a massive influx of hemp coming from Odisha and Andhra Pradesh, before reaching consumption centers in the northern states of India, mainly UP and Bihar, Telangana, Passes through Chhattisgarh and MP. Some quantity of ganja of the same origin also reaches Maharashtra for consumption. Maharashtra, Telangana and Tamil Nadu are more prone to manufacturing and smuggling of synthetic drugs,” the DRI had mentioned in its report for 2019-20.
In 2016, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar declared Bihar a dry state, implementing a five-year jail sentence even for first-time offenders, earlier than altering the rule two years later to levy fines for first-time offenders.
Over the previous 5 years, the state has seen a rise in instances associated to the consumption of medicine and the sale of illicit liquor, which is confirmed by the rise within the variety of folks hooked on ganja and different medication enrolling in state-run de-addiction facilities . ,
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With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
