A Dangerous Cash Crop
Written by Sankar Ray 3 October 08
(http://asiasentinel.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1461&Itemid=203)
Eastern India is a new haven for the terrorist-sponsored narcotics trade
For the poverty-stricken peoples of the districts of Nadia and
Murshidabad in India's West Bengal, illicit money-spinning crops of
marijuana and opium poppies are seen as a much-needed financial
lifeline. But this is no mere local problem, with terrorist
organisations rather than local narcotics barons being seen as pulling
the strings behind the scenes.
Analysts and intelligence experts say Bangladesh is the latest
breeding ground for terror groups such as Al-Qaeda, and narcotics
farming along the Indo-Bangla border is the reason.
There, poppy or marijuana strips grow discreetly inside small low-sucrose
sugarcane plantations. Growers allocate a hidden portion of the
plantations – and paddy plots in Nadia – and the rogue crops appear a
lucrative "way out" for the poor cultivators.
Still in the early stages, it is feared these rural belts of Nadia and
Murshidabad are being turned into pockets of influence for
heroin-dealing terrorists, according to federal intelligence agency
sources.
It may appear odd to students of political science and sociology, but
there are those that claim the quiet promotion of the cultivation of
these crops must receive at least implicit consent from India's
largest Leftist formation, the Communist Party of India, which has
governed this state uninterrupted for the last three decades.
Acreages of these "exotic wild grasses" have grown steadily over the
last fifteen years in the rural blocks of Hanskhali, Karimpur,
Nakashipara, Krishnaganj and Chapra of Nadia. However they were almost
routed in the village council polls a few months ago by the
combination of the Indian National Congress, India's largest and
oldest political entity
and its split-away regional opposition party Trinamool Congress
(grassroots Congress).
In Murshidabad, where Muslims account for 56 per cent of a population
stricken with endemic poverty and malnutrition, intelligence reports
cite poppy cultivation at Chandipur, Charpakia, Tiktipara and
Laskarpur villages between the Jangipur and Lalgola rural blocks.
Given the abject conditions, it is hardly surprising the people could
be lured by the temptation of the illicit cash crop. However, local
leaders of two major political parties, INC and CPI(M), have turned a
blind eye, with some even accusing influential political leaders of
being on the drug mafia's payroll.
"Opium poppy seeds, grown very insignificantly, were used exclusively
for medication or medicinal purposes until the 1980s and there was no
cause for concern, but now we have no option other than to discourage
the cultivation of opium or ganja," said a senior official at the
secretariat of the chief medical officer of health in Nadia.
Last year, the state and federal criminal intelligence agencies,
functioning under the Narcotic Control Bureau (NCB) seized about 5,000
kilograms of marijuana in the two districts, according to official
data, valued at US$48 million on the international market. The haul of
opium and heroin by the NCB in Murshidabad was estimated at 7.6 kg and
3.2 kg respectively, roughly valued at US$1.2 billion.
Given the lucrative rewards, it's hardly surprising the narcotics
mafia has made deep inroads inside the state police network, and
tip-offs prior to NCB raids are common. K Shankar, chief of the NCB's
eastern India headquarters, said: "We sit down with district police
superintendents the moment we get any information about opium or ganja
cultivation and immediately chalk out plans for raids. By hook or by
crook, we shall prevent the farming and trade of narcotics. If our
people are found working as informers for the mafia, we are determined
to punish them."
Senior figures in the federal Intelligence network are growing
increasingly worried that this local problem is deeply linked with
various terrorist outfits, most linked to Al-Qaeda or the Taliban.
"Our concern is deeper as the phenomenal growth of narco-farming and
trade is taking place in West Bengal, under the Left Front (Communist
Party) rule," said an officer of federal intelligence who wished to
remain anonymous.
A new feature of the narco-mafia and their micro-empire is the
hierarchical structure of drug overlords. One of the top figures,
Tarasankar Giri, is Hindu, not Muslim. Giri's racket was smashed last
year when two intelligence officers commissioned by the NCB seized 1.5
kg of heroin.
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