New Delhi (NVI): India and Myanmar held a fifth level Bilateral Meeting on drug control and cooperation, the Ministry of Home Affairs said.
The meeting was held virtually yesterday, between the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), India, and the Central Committee on Drug Abuse Control, Myanmar.
Indian delegation was led by Director-General, Narcotics Control Bureau, Rakesh Asthana and the Myanmar delegation led by Police Brig- Gen Win Naing, Joint Secretary of Central Committee for Drug Abuse Control and Commander of Drug Enforcement Division, participated in the meeting via videoconference.
During the meeting, Rakesh Asthana, highlighted issues particularly the trafficking of Heroin and Amphetamine Type Stimulants (ATS) in the country, the Ministry of Home Affairs said in a statement.
Asthana also said, “High prevalence of drug abuse in the North Eastern States abutting the Myanmar border is a major cause of concern for India. Apart from porosity of the India-Myanmar border, drug trafficking through the maritime route in Bay of Bengal has emerged as a new challenge for both countries.”
He added that, NCB has remained committed towards strengthening the existing mechanism of sharing information and assistance with Myanmar, for combating the drug menace in the region.
Meanwhile, Win Naing elaborated on the growing threat of the production of yaba tablets (methamphetamine) which has caused a grave concern in the region, even though the cooperation mechanism between Myanmar and India has been enhanced over the past years.
He also urged India to develop frequent information exchange on trafficking of drugs and precursor smuggling activities at every level. The Commander of the DED complimented the Government of India and the NCB for their continuous efforts to combat the growing threat of the drug menace.
The two countries agreed on the exchange of intelligence information in a timely manner to conduct follow-up investigations in drug seizure cases, new psychotropic substances and their precursors, the statement further said.
They also agreed to conduct Border Level Officers or Field Level Officers meetings on regular basis between frontline officers to strengthen the existing cooperation on drug law enforcement, it added.
It was decided to exchange information on illegal entry and exit points of illicit drug trafficking on the Myanmar-India borders and information on technology being used to interdict drug trafficking.
However, the meeting was concluded with constructive and meaningful discussions and committed to such cooperation in the future, with the decision to hold the sixth bilateral meeting on drug control cooperation in India next year.
-RJV
