Kerala a hotspot of drug trade: UN expert

KOCHI: South Indian states, especially Kerala, are becoming hotspots in the flow of drugs, including synthetic.

The South-Asian sea route is increasingly being used for drug trafficking for the last few years, according to Sergy Kapinos, representative of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime for South Asia.

"The drug gangs use the major sea route here to bring the items in bulk amount," he said at a meeting of the Asian Regional Forum against Drugs held here on Wednesday.

 "A lot of such drug deliveries have been reportedly happening in the past many years through the sea, especially in South India and it is increasing day by day," he said.

Prescription drugs were being diverted to illegal channels for trade in the Indian states, especially southern states.

The border with Myanmar is a challenging spot in case of synthetic drugs. A lot of synthetic drugs from South-East Asia via Bangladesh and Myanmar as well are flowing to the Indian states. Of these drugs, Ya Ba tablet is considered as the major one as itcontains a mixture of methamphetamine and caffeine.

In the wake of the frequent incidents of drug trafficking through maritime routes, a criminal intelligence sharing mechanism is being set up in South Asia in cooperation with the United Nations and the process is underway.
The information gathered will be shared not only with the Asian countries but also with European and American. Therefore, it is much broader and effective in tackling the drug trade, he said.

The meeting organised by the World Federation Against Drugs (WFAD) and the Fourth Wave Foundation's Project Venda was inaugurated by Governor Arif Muhammed Khan. He stressed the role of youth in collaborating against substance abuse.