Agartala: Tripura Chief Minister Dr Manik Saha on Monday informed the assembly that the Tripura government had drawn the attention of the central government for setting up an investigation wing of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) in Agartala with the growing trend of drug abuse.
Replying to calling attention moved by Congress MLA Sudip Roy Barman, Dr Saha said 19 serious cases under the NDPS Act were recently handed over to a Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed under the Tripura Police Crime Branch.
The use of narcotic substances among youngsters and students has increased manifold over the past few years in Tripura and the state has become a corridor for the smuggling of narcotic substances to Bangladesh and neighbouring Indian states, the Chief Minister said.
“A proposal for procurement of a full-body scanner (to scan the vehicles carrying contraband items) is under consideration. At present, six specially trained sniffer dogs are being used in the drive against drugs while the government is further considering a plan for purchasing more apparatus to put an end to drug addiction,” Dr Saha pointed out.
Chief Minister Amarinder Singh said that in the anti-drug drives since 2010, 291 cases have been registered, along with 557 others in 2020, 352 cases and 690 arrests in 2021, and 399 cases and 542 arrested so far this year.
