Police forces across the northeastern states are set to roll out a coordinated anti-drug strategy within the next 10 days to strengthen the region's fight against narcotics trafficking, Nagaland Director General of Police Rupin Sharma said on Friday.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an event marking the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, Sharma said Directors General of Police and heads of anti-narcotics task forces from all northeastern states had recently met to devise a common strategy to dismantle drug trafficking networks operating across the region.
"In the past two weeks, all the DGPs of North East states and the anti-narcotics task force heads have come together. We are trying to develop a common concerted strategy for checking drug trafficking," Sharma said.
He said the mechanism was aimed at improving coordination among law enforcement agencies, making it increasingly difficult for traffickers to transport narcotic substances across state borders.
Under the proposed arrangement, traffickers moving drugs from Mizoram or Manipur into Nagaland would be tracked not only by Nagaland Police but also through coordinated surveillance in Assam and other neighbouring states. Similarly, those attempting to source narcotics from Assam, Nagaland or Manipur would face heightened scrutiny through enhanced inter-state cooperation.
Also read: Northeast states forms joint action front to combat drug trade
"The strategy is already being made, but it will take concrete shape in the next 10 days or so, and we will see better results in future," Sharma said.
Addressing the broader challenge of drug abuse, the Nagaland Police chief said progress had been achieved in certain parts of the state but stressed that curbing the menace required collective action from society and could not be left solely to law enforcement agencies.
Sharma also announced plans to install facial recognition technology, surveillance cameras and CCTV systems in major towns across Nagaland to improve women's safety and deter crime in public places.
He urged victims of sexual assault and their families to come forward and report offences to the police, saying a rise in reporting indicated growing public confidence in law enforcement.
The proposed regional strategy comes amid continued concerns over drug trafficking routes in the Northeast, with the states seeking closer cooperation to curb the movement of narcotics through the region.
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