Golden Crescent and Golden Triangle

India's accessibility to the golden crescent and golden triangle has made it subjected to the trafficking of drugs and narcotics. The flow of illegal drugs from two fronts, that is the North Eastern and North Western side, results in breach of national security which is a primary concern of the country now.

India is layered between golden crescent and golden triangle which is why it is vulnerable to drug trafficking. India had previously reported a considerate increase in annexure of amphetamine-type stimulants, most of which have a suspicion to be methamphetamine. The logic behind the spike has a suspicion to be increased trafficking across the golden triangle and the surged use of maritime trafficking routes along the Andaman Sea, crossing Indian territorial waters.

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Issues With The Golden Crescent and Golden Triangle

The issue with the Golden Crescent and Golden Triangle:

India's closeness to the golden crescent and golden triangle made it vulnerable to the trafficking of drugs and narcotics. The passage of illicit drugs from two fronts that is the North-Eastern and North-Western sides is consequent to the contravention of national security which is a key concern of the country now.

Why Does the Golden Triangle Use India For Smuggling?

The security at the Indo-Myanmar border was not much solid till the very present-day amendments. Uneven terrain and densely covered forests rendered for an easy hermitage for smugglers. Local tribes and other residents are involved in the criminal activity out of compassion as there is plenty of poverty, illiteracy and unemployment in the North-Eastern areas.

India’s Security Concerns

Some of the key challenges for India’s internal security appearing from the drug corridor of the Golden Triangle are underlined below-:

Firstly, this drug corridor is an uncomplicated source of income for insurgents who join forces with criminal crews to smuggle drugs along the border. Traffickers are better accustomed to the terrain of this area; thus, they easily get away with the radar of security forces. Moreover, the terra nullius (no man’s land) between Moreh Ward No.4 in Manipur and the Namphalong market of Myanmar has been a retreat for drug traffickers. In a recent report by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on annexation during the month of January 2019. The emergence of these drugs was detected in Myanmar.

Secondly, the area is near the Naxal impacted regions that exploit the corridor for expanding their revenues and arms smuggling. In the inadequacy of infrastructural development, they illegally grow cannabis and opium rendering them ready money. Thus, regions affected by insurgency in the northeastern states and LWE are well-recognized to indulge widely in drug trafficking. This is additionally corroborated by the NCB’s report displaying that the biggest seizures of drugs like heroin, opium, and cannabis takes place in Red Corridor regions like Bihar, Jharkhand, and Andhra Pradesh.

Thirdly, illegal drug cultivation brings about environmental destruction in the form of river pollution. Toxic chemical wastes produced are furtively dumped into rivers flowing in the area. River pollution flowing between Myanmar and Northeast India such as the Kaladan River will not only jeopardize the marine ecosystem but also induce health issues for the people living here.

Fourth, the effortless availability of drugs in the Indian market is surging up drug abuse cases, especially amongst the youth. As per the report by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, approximately 2.1% of Indians use opium-like opium, heroin, poppy, morphine and non-medical sedatives. Sikkim, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh possess the highest prevalence of this opioid use. This is startling since the human resource is a country’s asset and damaging it is a new way of causing instability. Thus, growing drug abuse, particularly by the youth, will provide the demographic dividend useless.

Golden Triangle Countries

The infamous Golden Triangle showcases the areas at the junction with the rural mountains of Myanmar, Thailand and Laos. It is Southeast Asia’s main opium-generating area and one of the earliest narcotics supply routes to North America and Europe. Having a 1643km long border with Myanmar, India has been quite vulnerable for the longest time, even before the occurrence of the Golden Crescent.

States of Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh share their border with Myanmar. Drugs including heroin, cannabis, opium, methamphetamine and many more are smuggled from Myanmar into the northeast. Moreover, drugs illegally cultivated in India travel along the same route for trade. Drugs that are produced in the ‘Golden Triangle’ enter India by way of Mizoram, Manipur, Mandalay in Myanmar and Nagaland from Bhamo, Lashio. 

Why The Thar Desert Was Used To Smuggle Drugs?

The Thar Desert had been an earlier route of supply of opium from Malwa to Karachi in the 1980s and had also been a traditional route in the Chinese Colonial Era.

The desert is a huge barren section of land which is poorly protected and has a low-security level.

The closure of the Balkan gateway along with Iran after the Iran-Iraq war stipulated the rerouting of the supply chain from India. 

In the 1980s, Sikh militancy exacerbated the drug trafficking in India in the area of Punjab.  

Conclusion

Drug trafficking is a crucial transnational arranged crime with the potential to impair national security. The growing nexus between drug peddlers and terrorist groups is a quickly growing concern. However, these security concerns can be dealt with a comprehensive evaluation of military and governance management along with effective coordination between the state, centre and transnational governments in the area.