CADA asserted that convicting just small-time smugglers caught with 50 or 100-grams drugs while letting off alleged “drug-kingpin or drug-lord” cannot not be considered a success of the government’s “War on Drugs”
TFM Desk
Coalition Against Drugs and Alcohol (CADA) on Thursday said that the “inability” of the state government to punish the big-time drug smugglers has led to people wondering whether the government is covertly supporting them and whether the state is being governed as per the whims and wishes of these drug smugglers.
CADA, in a release, asserted that convicting just small-time smugglers caught with 50 or 100-grams drugs while letting off alleged “drug-kingpin or drug-lord” cannot not be considered a success of the government’s “War on Drugs”.
CADA condemned the discharging of the nine accused on January 20, 2021, in the drug seizure case of August 2019 where the Thoubal police seized drugs worth Rs 400 crore in the international market from Phoudel Kairambi, Thoubal District. It is really surprising that they have been let go due to “lapses in the investigation”. It is more surprising that it came close on the heels of the public outcry against the acquittal of Lhukhosei Zou, it added.
The non-compliance of “mandatory provisions” under the Narcotic Drugs & Psychotropic Substance Act and changing of the “place of occurrence” all point to a big collusion, CADA asserted. Although the Special Judge ND & PS Thoubal has discharged them due to lapses in the investigation, the government should set up an enquiry committee and punish as per the law the team who had lapses in the “seizure procedure”.
CADA further said that the government’s “War on Drugs” has become a joke due to the recent acquittal and discharging of the accused involved in multi-crore drug haul cases even with the “Fast track court” in places to deal with such cases. It also appealed the government to eradicate the menace of drugs from the state and save the youths.