NE DGPs meet begins, drug trafficking major concern for Northeast, says Tripura CM

Agartala, Nov. 22 (PTI): Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha on Tuesday said drug trafficking from across the border is a major concern for the north east region.

Inaugurating the two-day meeting of DGPs and heads of Central Police Organisations (CPOs) of northeast region, Saha said enforcement agencies including state police will work together to uproot the menace in the days to come.

“The drug supply chain from Myanmar through Mizoram and Assam border has emerged as a major problem for northeastern states. The two-day meeting of DGPs and heads of CPOs of Northeast region will throw light on the problem and find ways for tackling it effectively”, he told reporters after inaugurating the conference at Prajna Bhavan here.

He said that Tripura is being used as a corridor for drug trafficking from Myanmar to Bangladesh through Mizoram and Assam.

Saha said there will also be discussion on how to curb ganja smuggling from the northeastern state (Tripura) to mainland states with law enforcement agencies seizing cannabis almost every day. Tripura is second in seizure and destruction of various drugs in the region.

Although such a conference was supposed to take place once a year to enhance cooperation among the security agencies, it could not take place for the past three years because of Covid pandemic and other issues.

Laying emphasis on cooperation among the state police and the central security agencies to address the security challenges in the region, Saha said insurgency has been scaled down drastically in eight states of the Northeast over the past few years.

“The presence of insurgency is reduced to thin in the region which had witnessed bloodshed spilling over several years but a few groups still have a presence across the border. The security agencies working in the region are keeping a close eye on the security situation”, he said.

On the infiltration, the Chief Minister said some patches of the international border is still unfenced.

“The Central and state governments have already taken up the unfenced border issue with Dhaka to get the border fully fenced. This (infiltration) will also come up in the conference to adopt a strategy to stop infiltration from across the border”, he said.

When asked about entry of Rohingyas, Saha, who holds the Home portfolio, said many Rohingyas were detained in the Northeastern state and legal action taken against illegal infiltrators.

DGs/ IGs of all the Northeastern states and senior officials of security and intelligence agencies will draw up a comprehensive strategy to address the common security concern at the conference.