New Delhi: Warning of the threat of narco-terrorism and its impact on the country’s economy and security, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Wednesday said the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) should focus on cracking down on drug traffickers and cartels, rather than targeting consumers. The minister’s statement was seen as an apparent rebuke to the country’s anti-drugs agency in the wake of the fiasco involving movie star Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan.Speaking at a conference of anti-narcotics task forces from states and union territories, Shah said that drug users were victims who needed rehabilitation, not criminalisation, according to an NDTV report.
“There should not be any mistake in the approach and our goal should be clear that one who consumes drugs is a victim and one who deals in drugs is a criminal, and they need to be dealt with firmly. We should help them in rehabilitation. The focus of investigation should be traffickers and cartels behind the drug trade,” Shah was quoted as saying.
Shah said that drugs not only made the young generation hollow but also had many adverse effects on the country’s economy. He also said that through narco-terrorism, drug smugglers could breach the security of the country’s border.
“If the 130 crore Indians fight it together, we will win this battle,” he said, adding that the Narendra Modi government has set a target to make the country drug-free by 2047, the 100th year of Independence.
