• Prakash Pohare

In the last few years, there have been major operations in one state in India. This shows how much black marketing is going on in the country. September, 2020 - Mundra Port, Gujarat - 9,000 crores September, 2021 - Mundra Port, Gujarat - 21,000 crores April, 2022 - Kutch, Gujarat - 2100 crores April, 2022 - Kandla, Gujarat - 1439 crores June, 2022 - Mundra Port, Gujarat - 250 crores August, 2022 - Vadodara, Kankaleshwar, Gujarat - 3534 crores

The above figures do not represent borrowers, or venals, or income tax raids or raids conducted by ED and CBI.

So, this amount is the international market value of smuggled heroin, methamphetamine and other similar narcotics confiscated illegally. The special thing is that this action has been taken only and only at ports and similar places in the state of Gujarat.

Why is it so in our developing country and that too in a state like Gujarat?

On one hand, you visualize Gujarat as a business-reform state/modern/100 per cent alcohol-free and vegetarian/developing state. The country whose Prime Minister, Home Minister hail from this state and the said duo is ruling the country today; The same Gujarat has been ruled by one party alone for twenty to twenty-five years; So, why has Gujarat still become the centre of drug trade today?

Ever since the central government privatized sea ports, which are the nation’s asset, the evidence of drug smuggling has been increasing and most of the incidents have taken place near Mundra port in Kutch district of Gujarat. These substances are supplied all over the country from here. Mundra Port is owned by Adani Port which is a company owned by veteran businessman Gautam Adani. Yes, Adani, who is currently the second richest person in the world, is a commodity trader. But how did the Centre and the Gujarat state government turn a blind eye to such a huge quantity of narcotics, that too at the port owned by the Adani Group? That is the real question. Such incidents have come to the fore in Gujarat as well, but the Modi media did not pay heed to such reports. However, news channels, which have been really making a ‘fool’ out of people by continuously showing useless political news on ‘Idiot Box’, suppressed the news when drug smugglers were caught at this port.

In the recent history of our country, none of the rulers paid serious attention to the ocean except one Chhatrapati Shivaraya. Shivaji Maharaj had established the first naval force in the world. This means that the ports were then under the control of the Maharaja, i.e. owned by the then government. The security system was so strong that infiltration or smuggling were a far-cry for the enemies. After that, many foreign and native rulers came to power but none did so again. Our India is a country surrounded by maritime borders. According to international law, each independent and sovereign country owns that country’s seas and airspace up to 200 nautical miles from its coast. This zone is called the ‘Exclusive Economic Zone’ (EEZ). Any movement by any other country in this ‘EEZ’ (Exclusive Economic Zone) requires proper permission of the host country. This means that no one can enter the EEZ without the permission of the owner.

You must have read news that Pakistani or Bangladeshi fishing trawlers entered Indian waters and were prosecuted etc. It happens the same way. But nowadays who owns these ports built for trade? Is it necessary to tell afresh after our great ‘Vikas Purush’ has sold all the important ports?

If so, with whose permission are drugs worth thousands of crores of rupees being imported by sea from Pakistan, UAE, Iran, Afghanistan? It is not difficult to understand it either. Without someone’s royal patronage, without a big name behind the scenes, it is not possible to have political alliances and an open trade system! Even today ‘Intelligent’ people are in power. That means really ‘intelligent’! So, they handed over most of the defense sector, ports etc. to profiteers. Their ‘business’ is bound to go on in full swing...!

In the present scenario, a large-scale drug peddling racket is active in Gujarat. This includes not only narcotic drugs, but also banned drugs and pills taken to cause intoxication. The figures I have given in the beginning are quite alarming, but last year I received a report, which showed that after the BJP government came to power at the Centre, repeated incidents of drug peddling have come to the fore in Gujarat’s Adani port. But the Indian TV media, which causes great ruckus even around small things, is silent after this incident. These black exploits are often exposed by such people, who can be counted on fingers, but all the investigating agencies including the government have completely ignored the facts.

On December 20, 2016, 800 kg of cocaine, valued at over Rs. 1200 crores, was seized in Sri Lanka from a ship that arrived at Adani’s Mundra port. This ship was to reach India via Ecuador, Belgium, Saudi Arabia. In April last year, eight Pakistanis were caught carrying heroin worth over Rs. 3,000 crores near Mundra port. In 2020, drugs worth Rs. 120 crores were seized from Adani’s ‘Hazira’ port. This drug named ‘Tremedal’ is also known as ‘ISIS drug’. In May 2019, 6 Pakistanis were caught with 280 kg of drugs from a ship named ‘Al Madina’. In July 2017, the Coast Guard intercepted a consignment of 1,500 kg of heroin from a Gujarat-bound ship from the Chinese-controlled Gwadar port in Baluchistan.

Now some questions arise. So far drugs worth mentioned (above) have been seized at Adani’s Mundra port, but no one has confirmed that Adani is involved in drug dealing! It may be wrong to say so. Because there is no proof, but till date no one has even tried to find any proof. Now it is a simple matter that if narcotics are found in Adani’s premises, then Adani should remain under suspicion. If ‘gaanja’ was found in a common man’s house or 10-15 plants of ‘gaanja’ were found in a farmer’s field, would he not have been in jail by now? Obviously, all these black exploits were also suppressed. Like during demonetisation Mahesh Shah, a property dealer from Ahmedabad in Gujarat was caught with Rs. 13,860 crores of black money, but later both that black money and Mahesh Shah disappeared! There was a stir in Bollywood after getting 10 grams of drugs, but Adani is the master of the country! Who would dare to question him?

More than 50 lakh youth in the country are addicted to drugs like heroin. The black-market price of heroin and cocaine usually ranges from 3,000 to10,000 crore per gram. From this we can see the turnover of this business. Call it a coincidence you may, who knows, some people from India are coming in the list. Alternatively, even if action is taken against this industry, such activities do not end through corrupt means and money power. The central system, the Coast Guard system, the state police system are all being systematically weakened in a series of ways.

An expert has said that if you want to destroy a country, don’t go to war with it, don’t drop an atomic bomb, but make the youth there addicted to drugs! This intoxication will cause the destruction of that country! There is a legal ban on such drugs and the laws are also very strict. Despite this, why are industries and industrial chains often built parallel with other industries in our country? Even this need to be considered by us.

On one hand, there is a disturbance in the functioning of the nerve cells of the brain due to the consumption of intoxicants, along with it, the reasoning power and all the cerebral power of the human being is disrupted. A human being falls into addiction without knowing the reality. Yes, the same situation is emerging in today’s young generation as well and no one is seeing any rebellion nor taking any strategic steps on these burning issues. Isn’t it unfortunate that Prime Minister, Union Home Minister, Gujarat Police, Coast Guard etc. are not taking any drastic steps to stop this black industry. Also, no social organization or political party is raising its voice. This clearly means – Welcome to the ‘Gujarat model’ of ‘drug abuse’! Now, what are you thinking about ‘Johnny’, my India is changing...!

(The writer is the Chief Editor of the Hindi daily Rashtra Prakash)