Pubdate: Fri, 24 Dec 2004
Source: Times of India, The (India)
Copyright: Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. 2004
Contact:  http://www.timesofindia.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/453
Author: Amit Mukherjee
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/heroin.htm (Heroin)

AFGHAN OPIUM TRADE HAS INDIA WORRIED

NEW DELHI - The failure of the US to put an end to the reign of
druglords in Afgha-nistan may cost India dearly.

The sharp increase in opium cultivation in Afgha-nistan by a whopping
60% over the last one year is giving sleepless nights to Indian drug
enforcement agencies.

The concern stems from the fact that most of the consignments of
heroin seized in India in recent months originated in the war-ravaged
Afghanistan and found their way into the country though the Indo-Pak
border along Punjab.

"It's an alarming situation since we think the drug peddlers and mafia
operating along the Afghanistan-Pakistan route may try to offload more
contraband into India in the wake of a bumper harvest," said an
official of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence.

Opium production in Afghanistan was encouraged by the Taliban regime
and its mentors in the ISI. The failure of the US to establish its
grip over the entire country, with Taliban remnants continuing to call
shorts over vast patches, has allowed the drug syndicates to carry on
with their lucrative trade.

Recent reports on Afghanistan's drug industry show a mammoth 131,000
hectares (323,708 acres) was devoted to poppy farming.
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MAP posted-by: Derek