NCJ Number
198164
Journal
Indian Police Journal Volume: 47 Issue: 4 Dated: October-December 2000 Pages: 73-98
Date Published
October 2000
Length
26 pages
Annotation
This article deals with practical difficulties encountered in effective enforcement of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.
Abstract
India's narcotics problem is very complex because of its proximity to the two major opium producing regions -- the Golden Crescent (Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran) in the west and the Golden Triangle (Myanmar, Thailand and Laos) on the east. Because India is a licit producer of opium for medicinal and research purposes, there are always chances of pilferage from the licit channel to illicit channels. Growing liberalization of the economy and lessening of trade barriers have added a new dimension to the problem and there is an ever increasing danger of exploitation of normal trade channels for narcotics trafficking. A number of central and State agencies are involved in the implementation of the NDPS Act and there is a lack of coordination among them. The practical difficulties in effective enforcement of the NDPS Act, 1985, include: (1) lack of coordination among different enforcement agencies; (2) no system has been developed for sharing intelligence among national and State agencies; (3) the state police usually give low priority to enforcement of local and special laws, including drug laws; (4) police are not well-informed and adequately sensitized about proper enforcement of the NDPS Act; (5) impractical mandatory provisions of the law; (6) failure to locate the source of the supply; and (7) non-availability of independent witnesses. References