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The government of India has established a specialized taskforce under the Multi-Agency Centre to monitor dark web and cryptocurrency platforms used for drug trafficking.
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A new digital database called NIDAAN now integrates data on all arrested narco-offenders across India’s drug law enforcement agencies.
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India’s NIDAAN Program facilitates the sharing of information among NCBs, state anti-drug agencies, and border security agencies to improve their cooperation in reducing cross-border drug trafficking.
India’s drug enforcement agencies have received an additional resource in the form of a newly established task force to combat drug traffickers who use illegal online markets and cryptocurrencies as a cover for their criminal activities.
The task force has been implemented by the Government, and India’s Minister of State for Home Affairs, Nityanand Rai, disclosed the formation of this task force to the Lok Sabha on Tuesday.
The taskforce will operate through a Multi-Agency Centre mechanism, to work together with law enforcement agencies and other government departments to locate digital platforms that support drug trafficking in cyber space; this is an important step in India’s efforts to combat drug-related offenses as trails of criminals are becoming more common due to the increased usage of encrypted networks and anonymous payment systems to avoid being tracked.
Multi-Pronged Strategy Against Drug Networks
The Government designed this task force with several key objectives. The team monitors suspicious platforms continuously. Members share critical intelligence on drug smuggling activities across all participating agencies. They intercept drug networks before shipments reach their destinations.
The task force also maintains an evolving database. Investigators capture emerging trends and criminal methods regularly. They update information on key players and trafficking nodes. The team reviews existing rules and laws to identify gaps that traffickers exploit.
“NCB joins forces with other bodies like Coast Guard, Navy, State ANTFs, and Border Security Force to carry out joint anti-drug operations,” Rai explained in his written response.
The Government didn’t stop at just creating the task force. Officials established a Joint Coordination Committee at both the central and state levels. This committee oversees investigations into major drug seizures. The layered approach ensures no significant case falls through bureaucratic cracks.
NIDAAN Database Tracks Every Arrested Offender
The Narcotics Control Bureau launched something unprecedented. They developed NIDAAN—the National Integrated Database on Arrested Narco-Offenders. The NCB built this system in collaboration with the Interoperable Criminal Justice System.
The NIDAAN program brings together the records of narcotics law enforcement agencies in India into one central database. The records contain detailed information on people who have been arrested for violating the NDPS Act, including but not limited to pictures, fingerprints, and personal identification numbers. The records also contain the details and court information relating to an individual’s arrest.
“The NIDAAN platform works with information of NDPS (Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances) offenders apprehended by every Drug Law Authority across the country, including information such as photographs, identity details, case particulars, fingerprints, as well as court-related details,” the minister stated.
The system draws its resources from two primary sources. Every India E-Prisons feeds information directly into NIDAAN. The NCB’s own database provides additional records. This centralized approach eliminates data silos that previously hampered investigations.
Strengthening Borders and State Coordination
The Government has established more collaborative mechanisms between various agencies, acknowledging that drug smuggling transcends interstate and international boundaries. Based on this, the Narcotics Control Bureau engages in close cooperation with state anti-drug task forces and with border security agencies as part of their collaborative activities.
This multi-agency approach targets not only drug trafficking into and out of India, but it also seeks to disrupt the networks that drug traffickers use to move drugs between states. Drug trafficking organizations often exploit jurisdictional divisions to complicate law enforcement investigations; however, this new approach removes that opportunity.
The newly established dark web task force represents the government’s acknowledgement of modern drug trafficking as being heavily reliant upon digital technology. Criminals utilize encrypted communication apps, anonymous crypto, and underground websites for their illegal activities.
Traditional law enforcement methods are unable to access most of these areas of criminal activity; the Government has recognized this and has taken the necessary steps to proactively respond to this development by adapting its law enforcement efforts to the changing face of crime.
By tracking these digital systems through real-time monitoring and creating a database, India’s law enforcement entities will have a clear advantage over drug traffickers in this continuing battle.
