Govt mulls further tightening of control over precursor chemicals

Stepping up efforts to check drug trafficking, India is contemplating a further tightening of controls on the manufacture of the precursor chemicals used in synthetic narcotic drugs, the Finance Secretary, Mr R.S. Gujral, has said.

“For the purpose of production of amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS), precursor chemicals such as ephedrine and pseudo-ephedrine are used as inputs for the region,” Mr Gujral said here today while addressing the meeting of the Head of National Drug Law Enforcement Agencies (HONLEA).

He said: “Further tightening of control over precursor chemicals is under the consideration of the government.”

He said both of these precursor chemicals have been notified as specified substances for the purpose of checking their illegal movement within the area specified (50 km and 100 km) along the Indo-Pak border and Indo-Myanmar border.

A report by UNODC ranks ATS as the world’s second-most widely used type of drug after cannabis. It notes that the expansion of the drug trade and high criminal profits pose an increasing threat to security and health worldwide.

At the meet, Mr Gujaral reaffirmed India’s commitment to fight drug trafficking and proliferation.

He said India has been working consistently to strengthen its legal framework in compliance with international standards established under the UN Convention against Transnational Crime and other international drug control conventions.

He also expressed concerns over reports of an increase in the area under opium cultivation in Afghanistan and emphasised on the need for better coordination among member countries of the region to tackle the drug trade.

“Countries have to cooperate more closely with one another by sharing intelligence, watching for international fugitives and conducting joint enforcement actions,” Mr Gujral added.

He said there is a need for drug law enforcement authorities to learn about the latest technologies and understand how they might be abused by criminals, as well as how they could be deployed to enhance investigative work.

He said India has imposed stringent controls on the production of precursor chemicals and has also formulated a Voluntary Code of Conduct for manufacturers.

“Instances of establishing clandestine laboratories in association with the foreign operatives have come to notice.

Labs have been successfully dismantled and sizeable quantities of illicit drugs seized,” he said.

Speaking on the occasion, the Narcotics Commissioner of India, Mr Jagjit Pavodia, said: “Despite the government putting in place various control measures, there are gaps which need to be addressed.”

Over 100 experts from across the globe and heads of various drug law enforcement agencies of different countries met here to work out steps to combat the menace of illicit drug production and trafficking.

The meeting aims at enhancing coordination at regional and sub-regional levels to effectively combat the menace of illicit drug production and trafficking.

Representatives from member countries of the Asia-Pacific Region, members or associate members of the Economic and Social Commission of Asia and Pacific (ESCAP), UN members and governmental organisations are expected to attend the conference.

The meeting is being hosted by the Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN), Gwalior, in collaboration with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). India earlier hosted the HONLEA meeting at New Delhi in 1983.

The UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) in 1974 established the HONLEA as a subsidiary body of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs to enhance coordination in drug law enforcement activities at the regional level.