India assists Burma to Fight Drugs Smuggling

Mizzima News (www.mizzima.com)

March 1, 2004

In view of the growing drug-related problems along the Indo-Burma border and the frequent arrest of drug traffickers, particularly at Moreh in northeast India, India and Burma have agreed to intensify operations against drug smuggling. Both countries have reached an agreement to share intelligence in order to curb the growing problem.

Sources in India’s Customs Department have told Mizzima News that India has provided sophisticated equipment to the Burma military to help contain the problem in Burma. Indian authorities have already asked the Burmese junta to intensify patrolling border areas to crackdown on drug trafficking.

The sources also said that lately, Burmese authorities have taken some stringent actions in their territory to tackle drug issues, including awareness raising among the general population, particularly in the border areas, death penalty for drug traffickers and frequent patrolling of important trafficking routes. “Similarly, the Indian Government has also intensified patrolling the international border, as well as deploying more anti-smuggling units in Moreh (India’s border town with Burma) equipped with electronic machines,” sources added.

Northeast India has been facing serious problems for several decades due to the unabated flow of heroin and other illicit drugs in the region. The porous border and prevailing insurgency problems provide favorable conditions for drug racketeering. Though the Indian Government had been pursuing the matter with the Burmese authorities, they have not been successful in eliminating the problem. However, since the improvement of Indo-Burmese relations, both the Indian and Burmese customs departments have now agreed to fight the problem jointly. Both, India and Burma have experienced seriously retarded regional development related to illicit drugs.

Expressing satisfaction, the sources considered it a good sign that both states have agreed to share intelligence information to contain the problem. “We have also agreed to hold frequent meetings to adopt strategies to reduce the problem,” they added.