The International drug traffickers have stepped up the use of
social media to trigger demand for drugs in many countries including Pakistan,
India and Thailand. According to an investigative report, the ringleaders of
this trade are operating their networks from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Thailand.
The benefit of drug use is explained on social media to the younger generation
and techniques are used to attract the younger generation towards it. A senior
officer off IA Cyber Crime Wing Islamabad said on condition of anonymity that we
have received reports of cyber criminals whose IP addresses have been traced
which show that some notable ringleaders of the deadly network are from
Afghanistan and Arab countries. Meanwhile, the anti-narcotics force in Pakistan
is also searching for people involved in online drug supply. Online drug sales
run into the millions of dollars each month but the name of the mastermind is
not yet known. Haji NaikAmalShinwari, a resident of Pakistan’s Khyber District
who has helped to apprehend many drug smugglers for local and foreign security
agencies, says it is a modern and secure way to sell drugs. For this, drug
traffickers have to hire IT experts at huge salaries. It is not necessary that
the IT expert must operate from Pakistan. Such people are running these affairs
while sitting in Dubai, Saudi Arabia, Thailand and European countries. Haji
NaikAmalShinwari says that an enormous amount of drugs are sold online in
Pakistan and drug traffickers are inventing new ways to supply drugs. Apart from
other means, drugs are also sent to Pakistan through drones from Afghanistan and
it is easy to catch them. In Pakistan, those caught in drug trafficking are
often new players while it is almost impossible to catch experienced smugglers.
He also said that the biggest source of income for the Afghan Taliban at the
moment is money coming from drug trafficking which is transferred to Pakistan
through Hundi Hawala (money laundering) and then from Pakistan to Afghanistan.
He adds that the number of informants reporting against drug traffickers is very
low because of the non-cooperation of anti-narcotics agencies. He says that in
the past he provided information to Pakistani and foreign agencies about the top
drug smugglers who in turn tried to assassinate him and bribed government
officials to implicate him in false cases against. Recently iron fence is being
removed by the Afghan Taliban from some parts of the Pak-Afghan border to
facilitate drug trafficking. ANF and customs officials have been targeted by the
Afghan Taliban in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa due to the seizure of their
narcotics consignments seized by the anti-narcotics force and customs.There are
fears that the government offices could be attacked as the Afghan Taliban have
demanded the release of three of their men, who were arrested by the ANF with a
sizable quantity of drugs. The price of drugs in the Pakistani market is
decreasing day by day and this price will come down further in March-April. The
Taliban know that the Pakistani government is supporting them, but the Taliban’s
habit of smuggling drugs could damage relations between Pakistan and
Afghanistan. European countries, including the US Drug Enforcement
Administration, the UK’s National Crime Agency, Canada’s Royal Canadian Mounted
Police and the Australian Federal Police, have also provided large sums of money
and equipment to the Pakistani anti-narcotics force and customs to curb drug
trafficking. So far billions of dollars have been given by all these countries
to eradicate the menace of smuggling in Pakistan with little success. Presently
there is a need to encourage parents to talk to their children about drugs and
monitor their activities to prevent usage of contraband while the government
should not only take the problem seriously, but also take strict action against
smuggling and launch an awareness campaign. There is a need for a systematic
evaluation during such mass media campaigns to know that they are leading to
changes in drug use attitudes andbehaviors and what is the ratio of
effectiveness. Social media is the most powerful tool to bring change in the
society but at the same time it can play the role of a weapon in the hands of
criminals.