One of the Central agencies has made a strong case for setting up separate chemical wings in all the states, conducting surveys on abandoned chemical factories, and focusing on identification and screening of cluster areas for diversion of precursor chemicals. In a recently held conference on ‘Trends of Precursor Chemicals trafficking in India’, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has cited the case study of expelled DMK functionary and Tamil film producer Jaffer Sadiq. It said he had allegedly trafficked “six metric ton of Pseudoephedrine” to Australia, New Zealand and Malaysia from India in the last 11 years. “One of the Central agencies raised the concern of rising illicit manufacturing of precursor’s chemicals in the country. India is a hub of chemical manufacturing and at the same time, we are witnessing a drastic rise of synthetic drugs in the society. Precursor chemicals are the main component to manufacture synthetic drugs,” a senior officer of the NCB said. On March 9, Sadiq was arrested for his alleged involvement in an international drugs trafficking nexus. “Three arrested persons along with Sadiq had informed them that a total of 45 pseudoephedrine consignments were sent by them over the last three years, containing about 3,500 kgs of pseudoephedrine valued at over Rs 2,000 crore in the international market,” NCB Deputy Director General (operations) Gyaneshwar Singh had said. During its presentation, the NCB mentioned a case study on seizure of pseudoephedrine, which was based on initial inputs from their counterparts in New Zealand. “Sadiq, the kingpin of the drug trafficking syndicate, has been trafficking pseudoephedrine to three countries through cargo since 2013. It was estimated during investigation that he had sent around six metric ton of pseudoephedrine outside India and amassed wealth worth hundreds of crores through drug trafficking. He also produced four Tamil movies,” the officer said. The NCB has also claimed during their investigation, it focused on digital evidence, including voice samples and compared with WhatsApp voice notes. “IP logs of fake Australian companies, emails and CCTV footage of banks where money was deposited were also seized," the officer added. During the meeting, the issue of abandoned chemical factories or sick units was also flagged and it was highlighted that they were used for manufacturing synthetic drugs. “It was decided to conduct a survey of major industrial areas by the local administration to identify abandoned chemical factories or sick units and a monitoring mechanism should be developed after consulting with the law enforcement agencies. “There is a need for all the LEAs to collaborate with concerned Chemical and Pharmaceutical industries regarding suspicious orders, so that they can prevent their diversion towards illicit manufacture of drugs,” the officer said.
