Sounding the War on Drugs slogan : Go for the big fishes
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: April 13, 2022 -

The disturbing question is, is Manipur just a transit route or has it also become one of the manufacturing zones for Heroin, Brown Sugar, WY Tablets etc ?

Is it a case of Manipur not just being close to the infamous Golden Triangle but is today fast emerging as one of the manufacturing hotspots, giving a twist to the understanding of Make in India to Made in Manipur ?

This question is being raised in the backdrop of the fact that not a single day passes off with the major newspapers published from Imphal not carrying a news item or two of drugs being confiscated and so and so persons held.

So far everything suggest that the persons arrested are just drug pushers, the couriers who may be transporting or smuggling the drugs for a fee and not the real barons.

The Made in Manipur question is also raised in the backdrop of the fact that quite a number of drug manufacturing units have been busted in some parts of the State, but as things have turned out, the major busts have never ever been followed up by any high profile or big arrest.

The only high profile arrest so far in the last few years is the infamous Lhoukhosei Zou but here again the Court had exonerated him of all charges on grounds that not sufficient evidences could be produced against him.

That the Supreme Court has fixed April 29 as the last date for the State Government to reply why it had not appealed to a higher Court following the release of Zou is another matter but what is a matter of grave concern is the fact that so far all those arrested with drugs seem to be mere pushers or couriers.

Trafficking drugs along the Imphal-Moreh Highway will cost money. Obviously it is not some small time couriers who will have the means and the contact to smuggle the drugs along this said route.

Moreover setting up drug manufacturing units will take money and clout and no small time pusher will be able to set up the unit, thus pointing to the involvement of some big guns.

The disturbing point is, so far Manipur has not seen the arrest of any high profile personality who will have the means and the reach to smuggle drugs costing huge amount of money.

This is besides setting up the drug manufacturing units.

Top this off with the fact that reports of seizure of drugs originating from Manipur in Assam and Meghalaya have been quite regular and this should more than say that there is the presence of a strong drug cartel, people with the means and the reach to indulge in the drug trade.

If the War on Drugs slogan is to have more meaning, then netting these people with reach and influence is what the situation demands.

The State Government cannot rest easy with the almost daily reports that such and such amount of drugs have been seized and so and so have been held along with the said drugs.

The indications should be more than enough for the State Government to wake up to this point.

The drug menace has already dealt a cruel blow on society and if the State Government wants to go in for the kill, then it is time to go for the big fishes and not rest easy with confiscating some amount of drugs and arresting the small fries.

Go For the Big Fishes is another line that may and in fact should accompany the War on Drugs slogan.

The Government would also seriously need to study the pattern of land holding system in the hills, which do not come under the MLR and LR Act and it is from this premise that the war against Poppy plantations should proceed further.

On whose land are the Poppy plants being cultivated and who is the sponsor ?

These are basic points which should guide the Government in its War on Drugs campaign.