The Nagaland Director General of Police, Rupin Sharma, IPS today said the state have around 30,000 opioid users in the State where Rs. 550 crore is spent daily, an amount not small considering the State’s economy. “This becomes a problem as they are not merely drug users but also drug traffickers and peddlers, with a close-knit network, which is a major stumbling block the police and law enforcement agencies face.”
He was speaking at the International Day Against Drug Abuse & Illicit Trafficking was observed with the theme ‘People First: Stop stigma and discrimination, strengthen prevention’ at Capital Convention Centre, Kohima. The event was jointly organized by the Social Welfare Department, Nagaland Baptist Church Council, NNagaDAO, SLCA, and Kripa Foundation, Nagaland.
He said that the best way to handle the problem is to own up and look at drug abusers not as criminals but as diseased or sick people who need treatment.
The DGP appealed to the users to help himself by revealing the drug seller and help break the nexus of drug trafficking and share information with drug-fighting agencies to help break the cycle.
Sharma stated that the Police are open to all help in fighting the drug problem but cautioned against taking the law into their own hands, he said that any civilian who is aware of a crime can intervene and detain a person, however, it is his duty to inform the police immediately.
He stated that data on drug abuse and crime is distorted, and the magnitude of the problem is not known which makes it difficult to put mechanisms into place to address the problem, therefore he requested all NGOs, civil societies to get involved but also to inform the law enforcement agency to help the government to develop better policy.
The DGP shared that the Police have prepared an app for the public where anyone can inform the police about drug users and traffickers, one can anonymously put data and appealed to everyone to join in the effort for the safety, well-being, and health of the entire society is at stake, adding that if there is no intervention now, we will not be able to intervene at all.
