Form dedicated anti-narcotic force, will help co-ordination, Shah tells states

TIL Desk/National/New Delhi/ Union Home Minister Amit Shah has asked all states to ser up a dedicated Anti-Narcotics Task Force (ANTF) under the Director General of Police, which will also function as state Narco-Coordination Centre (NCORD) secretariat.

Chairing the third meeting of the apex-level committee of the Narco Coordination Centre (NCORD) here, he said that “in the 75th year of Independence, we have to ensure to make the resolve to bring about the vision of ‘Drug-Free India’ given to us by Prime Minister Narendra Modi”.

Noting that the government has adopted zero tolerance policy against narcotics, considers drug abuse a major threat to national security and that can only be dealt with overall coordination, he stressed that there is a need for better coordination between all drug law enforcement agencies and intelligence agencies, not only at the national level but also between the Centre and the states.

He said the central NCORD unit under the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) will work as effective mechanism for information exchange between various institutions and agencies, while an effective system has to be put in place to stop increasing use of Dark Net and crypto-currency in illegal drugs trade and to prevent illegal drug cultivation, the agencies can use drones, satellites and other technology.