Drugs evade clampdown in North Eastern states

Aizawl, May 28: The forested hills and sleepy villages of the North East (NE) region, sandwiched between Myanmar and Bangladesh, are home to a growing menace -- rampant drug use and rapidly spreading HIV and AIDS.

North East India shares a huge international border with Myanmar and Bangladesh.

Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh share a combined 1,643 km with their military-ruled neighbour Myanmar while Asom, Tripura and Meghalaya share a combined 1,562 km with Bangladesh, which is covered with dense forests and rivers and provides the perfect cover for drug trafficking.

These areas have become every drug dealer's dream and despite recent attempts by the Indian and the neigbouring governments, the problem grows steadily worse.

Also the recent anti-drugs drives in the region and in neighbouring Myanmar and Bangladesh eventually forced up the street price of heroin, but many here simply switched to Spasmo Proxyvon (SP), a prescription painkiller and opiate.

The reason is all too evident because one Somtea was just 14 when he began injecting a powerful painkiller and opiate into his veins because, he told UNI, that all his friends did. When he finally found out he was HIV-positive at 26, he almost went mad.

Somehow, he found a way back. Today he sits in his living room with his wife, Irene, knife scars and tattoos all over his arms, but free from drugs and battling for a new life.

Last year, he and Irene became the first people in Mizoram to go public that they were HIV-positive and have now become active coordinators of Mizoram network of HIV positve people.

Mizoram Excise anti-narcotic cell officials stated that the village of Bhaga in Asom near the Mizoram border has become the nesting ground for heroin in the recent past.

The excise officials further added that the heroin, which, comes from Myanmar, to and through Mizoram, is much more pure than that which comes from the 'Golden Triangle' through Afghanistan.

The excise officials here claimed that laboratory tests have revealed that the heroin found in Mizoram has 80 per cent and above purity compared to the 35-40 per cent purity of the drug coming from Afghanistan. Though the seizures are small, excise officials believe Mizoram has become one of the main conduits for heroin that goes to mainland India and on to the international market.

Tripura, which shares the highest border with Bangladesh among North East states, also became the worst drug trafficking area in the recent past.

According to the BSF and Tripura customs official sources, Bishalgarh and Sonamura in western belt of the state have become the destination for drug trafficking.

During the past one year, both BSF and Tripura customs have already destroyed Rs five crore worth of drugs.

North East India Harm Reduction Network (NEIHRN) campaign co-ordinator R K James said official figures show the number of HIV sufferers increased five-fold in the past four years in the NE region. However, those officially listed as HIV-positive are just the tip of the iceberg.

He also added that as many as 90 per cent of drug users use injections in Manipur, Nagaland and Mizoram while 50 per cent of the substance users injecting drugs are reported in Meghalaya and Assam.

According to the NEIHRN records, in Manipur alone 22,402 people tested positive, in Nagaland it is 1,903, Mizoram (1,117), Asom (750), Tripura (278), Mehalaya(70) and in Sikkm 34 tested positive.

''Out of these total, more than 80 per cent were drug users'', he said and underlined, ''what is equally worrying is the increasing evidence that non-injecting sexual partners of injecting drug users are becoming infected with HIV mainly in North-Eastern states.'' Explaining the harmful scenario of injecting Spasmo Proxyvon into the vein, additional health director Dr Baruah, said the powder inside the small capsules is not soluble. It sticks to the walls of the veins, causing massive abscesses, gangrene and even amputations.

UNI