Tarun Karthick
Port Blair, 17 May 2024
Great Nicobar is one of the most strategically important islands for India. The Indian Government has big plans for the development of Great Nicobar.
On 16th May 2024, a huge cache of drugs was recovered by the Police from B-Quarry Beach of Great Nicobar. The cache of drugs is estimated to be valued over INR 50 Crores.
Andaman and Nicobar Islands have been reeling from the problem of drugs. Earlier, a huge cache of drugs was found on the shores of Car Nicobar and Little Andaman.
Although the media has questioned the authorities several times on the possibility of uninhabited islands of Andaman and Nicobar Islands being used by international traffickers as safe storage and transportation hubs for their illicit drugs, no definitive answers have been received.
Drugs washing up on the shores of different islands of the UT of Andaman and Nicobar Islands is a grave concern. The authorities including Police, Coast Guard, and other defence forces should buckle up and find out the cause of these drugs regularly washing up on the shores of the islands of Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
Meanwhile, a sniffer dog capable of detecting narcotics should be deployed at Great Nicobar. Luggage of incoming and outgoing passengers at Great Nicobar should be compulsorily sniffed. Cargo being imported into Great Nicobar should also be checked with the help of a sniffer dog.
The outgoing luggage of passengers traveling from Great Nicobar to Port Blair and other islands as well as to Chennai should be checked very thoroughly with the help of a sniffer dog.
Currently, there is no checking of passenger luggage while boarding a ship from Campbell Bay. During summer vacation, direct ships are available from Campbell Bay to Chennai. There is a high possibility that antisocial elements may be using the Chennai to Campbell Bay direct ship to transport drugs out of islands to the mainland.
Drugs can also be easily transported from islands like Kamorta to Campbell Bay as there is no checking of passenger luggage at Kamorta Port. Sniffer dogs should be deployed at Campbell Bay to check the luggage of incoming passengers to detect any narcotics that they may be carrying.