On August 11, Mizoram Chief Minister Zoramthanga’s Instagram page was overflowing with words of appreciation for the Mizoram Police. The World Book of Records had on August 6 recognized the Mizoram Police for mega disposal of narcotics and also for the seizure of the largest consignment of smuggled exotic animals.
“I have always been deeply overwhelmed by the sacrifices of the @mizorampolice till date. Adding another laurel to their outstanding work, utmost dedication of the Mizoram Police has been duly recognised by the World Book of Records; namely for their largest seizure of exotic wildlife species being smuggled, and the largest valued narcotics drug disposal on a single day by any State Police,” the chief minister wrote.
The state police was included in two prestigious editions of the World Book of Records for carrying out mega disposal of narcotics substance or illicit drugs worth over Rs. 2,362.9 crore on June 24 this year and for seizure of huge consignment of various exotic animals (468) in Myanmar border Champhai district in May this year, the officer said.
According to official data accessed by EastMojo, the state excise and narcotics department and police have seized 19.9 kilograms of heroin, 70.42 kilograms of methamphetamine tablets, 137.85 kilograms of ganja (cannabis) and other illicit drugs during this year till May. The two departments also arrested 374 people in drug related cases during the same period.
While the Chief Minister applauded the police for their good work, some citizens believe it was not a cause for celebration but rather a sign that the drug supply and demand needs to be kept in check.
HC Vanlalruata, a veteran journalist from Mizoram shared his opinion with EastMojo saying, “This is not a cause for celebration. It just highlights how Mizoram is the Golden Triangle via Myanmar and the main conduit used by smugglers. There has been trafficking of drugs through Mizoram for a long time and in reality, the numbers that are smuggled would be much higher than the numbers that are seized.”
When EastMojo questioned Lalbiakthanga Khiangte, DIG (Headquarters), if the Mizoram Police was able to make a mark in the World Book Records because of the high rates of drug being trafficked in the state, he said, “The drugs we disposed are what has been collected over a long period of time. Once we got the permission to incinerate the drugs, we did it in one day, and that is why it has come to a large number.”
The first drug related death in Mizoram was recorded in 1984 and as of 2022, a total of 1, 711 people have been reported to have died from drug use in the state. The high number of injecting drug users is also attributed to be one of the main causes why Mizoram, despite being one of the smallest states in the country, continues to top the statistics when it comes to the prevalence of HIV/AIDS. The government and its nodal departments have taken various measures to curb the use of drugs, taking action in drug seizure as well as care of addicts through setting up of rehabilitation centers. However, such efforts have failed to show major progress.
V Lalnunthara founder of Foundation for Drug Free Mizoram said this was the reason that led them to start an organisation. “We founded the organisation because of the high number of addicts in the state and the need to recognise addiction as a disease. Despite the government investing high amounts of money for rehabilitation there is a low rate of success. We believe there is a need to raise awareness among the children and teenagers. The harmful effects of drugs should be included in school syllabus and Sunday school teachings in the church. So far, the organisation has covered 30 schools and Sunday schools where 7,200 people have taken a pledge to abstain from drug abuse.”
Lalnunthara believes the large amount of drugs being seized by law enforcement forces show that drug use is rampant in Mizoram but also highlights the efficiency of the Mizoram police, “It can be assumed that the drugs that are not seized are double the amount that has been seized. The government needs to focus on enforcement. There are a lot of vacant posts in the police and excise departments that need to be filled. Looking at the high amount of drug supply after the refugee crisis, one might wonder if the initiatives taken by the government are not strong enough.”
While some citizens believe there is a connection to the refugee crisis and the surge in drug smuggling cases, according to a report in a Mizo investigative weekly, The Frontier Despatch, the Police and Excise and Narcotics department have recovered 29.612 kgs of heroin between January and July 2022, but only one among the arrested traffickers has been identified as a refugee. As per the report, the police have attributed the surge in drug smuggling to a surge in demand.
EastMojo spoke to Remsangzuala, a recovered drug user from Aizawl if the government needs to focus on supply reduction or demand reduction to control the drug movement in the state to which he responded, “From what I can observe, the main reason why adults as well as the youth get into drug abuse is because they have too much leisure time and no steady means of livelihood. The same reason goes for the drug mules from Burma, they are without a proper means of livelihood. People in Mizoram who are selling drugs are either doing it because they have no other means of income or because they are addicts who need money to buy more drugs. If the government is really going to take action, they need to look into providing more sources and means of employment for the youth. There needs to be more recreational centres for the youth and awareness has to be spread not from the high school level but from the primary level. By the time they are in high school many students have already tried their hands on drugs. At the same time, there are instances where fighting against the drug menace does not seem to produce a fruitful result. We can see how in the country of Philippines drug abuse continued despite the stringent measures taken by their leaders. In a democratic country, we may not be able to take such stringent measures but since there continues to be a demand, maybe the government can legalize such drugs and impose high taxes because drugs have the same impact on people’s lives and families as alcohol does.”
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