Drug abuse: Alarms ringing in Nepal
A few years back, it was reported in the media that Nepal had become the transit point for drug smugglers. The arrest of a number of smugglers, and the subsequent release of some with a clean chit by the Supreme Court had substantiated the allegations to some extent.
Lately, the increased volume of drug trade through Nepal has now become alarming. A new study by the International Narcotic Control Board (INCB) has revealed that Nepal has been ranked the top country in the sub-continent where people are infected with non-curable HIV/AIDS due to drug abuse. Intravenous Drug Use is the prime factor for transmission of the disease.
The INCB report says HIV/AIDS prevalence among the Injecting Drug Users (IDU) is 34 percent. According to Central Bureau of Statistics, over 47,000 Nepalese are IDUs and another 76,000 are directly or indirectly affected by the drug abuses.
Thought HIV prevalence among drug users have declined slightly in 2007 compared to 2003 in Nepal, the volume of drug trade still looms. Last year, police seized 105 kilograms of opium being trafficked to Nepal – the largest quantity of narcotics smuggled to this country in single consignment since 1991. Arrest of over 630 traffickers, including 500 plus Nepalese, has failed to catch any heat in controlling the illegal trade.
Very few narcotics are produced in Nepal with most of illegal drugs coming from neighbouring countries – especially from India. Heroin grown in India is smuggled to Nepal taking advantage the porous borders and flexible legal provisions.
However, according to a TV report, opium farming has fostered in Nepal as well. A documentary telecasted by Sagarmatha TV on Wednesday evening exemplified how narcotic farming is operating in this country. According to the TV report, over 100 bighas of land in Bara district in south west Nepal produce opium under the protection of police authorities and in cahoots with the local administration. The entire produce from Sunfala, Amritmai, Khasani, Bhagawanpur, Partewa and Tetagaon villages go to India, the TV report said. The INCB failed to reveal this fact.
The poor security arrangement at the international airport and weak investigation of the concerned authorities are but a few reasons that help the smugglers use Nepal as transit point for trade.
Meanwhile, the INCB report says Nepal is the highest producer of cannabis resin in South Asia. The government seized over 9,623 kilograms of this drug in 2008 alone. The situation of whole region is also frightening. The increase in seizure of cannabis resin in Nepal accounted for the fact that the amount of cannabis resin seized in the entire region of South Asia in 2006 was twice the amount seized in 2003. In addition to being abused locally, the drug is smuggled to other parts of South Asia and Asia Pacific – the main destination being India where 40-50 percent of the total cannabis seizure in that country was found to have been smuggled from Nepal.
A UN agency said that seizure of 1.8 kilograms of crystalline methamphetamine from Tribhuvan International Airport in June last year is an indication that Nepal is being continuously used as transit area for consignments of amphetamine-type stimulants destined for the increasingly lucrative illicit markets in countries in the Arabian peninsula.
Nepal remains a common destination for consignments of pharmaceutical preparations smuggled out of India. Some months back, the Department of Drug Administration had banned the sale of several unregistered drugs sold in Nepalese market openly.
Illicit drug smuggling is increasingly becoming a global issue. The trade has been growing at the rate of 9-10 percent yearly and Nepal remains no exception to this. Several measures were taken to combat the issue yet there is no light in sight. SAARC proposal to set up Drug Offences Monitoring Desk in Colombo and effort of governments from the region to respond to drug trafficking have been futile so far.
Nepal’s strength to tackle this dangerous problem lies not only with its laws but with the capability and activeness of the agencies responsible for the job.
Published in Nepalnews.com