Bhubaneswar: The Mahakumbh of top cops is underway in Odisha State capital. Nearly 500 high-ranked police officers across the country will be mulling over the key security challenges the law enforcement agencies stare at. Among myriad of national security issues on the table, the 4G war dominates in a big way.

The criticality of this 4G war is, as per MHA report, it will be collapsing the enemy internally rather than physically destroying him. Moreover, the war is fought virtually in a hush hush way, which made it a harder nut to crack for even the security agencies.

WHAT IS 4G WAR? 

4G war is described as Fourth Generation War by a Ministry of Home Affairs report. The report reckons the Fourth generation warfare to be widely dispersed and largely undefined, with the distinction between war and peace blurred to the vanishing point. It further added that 4G war will be a non-linear, possibly to the point of having no definable battlefields or fronts.

The one line summary description has been that 4G War is a conflict characterized by blurring of the lines between war and politics, combatants and civilians.

Security experts define the 4G war as Narco terror – the proliferating narcotic trade and its link to the financing of terror organsiations.

4G WAR SCENARIO IN INDIA

Here is a Narcotics Control Bureau’s report on the tentacles of the Narco terror in the country in 2023. See the image below.

Note down the trend, and how challenging it is for the security agencies. More so, why it topped the agenda of the annual DGP conference.

• Trafficking of Opiates from South West Asia and South East Asia to India.
• Illicit cultivation of Opium & wild growth of Cannabis in some pockets.
• Increase in instances of trafficking via dark net involving crypto currencies.
• Seizure of drugs from check-in baggage, body concealment and air cargo at airports.
• Involvement of foreign nationals in trafficking and distribution networks of Heroin and Cocaine.
• Diversion of pharmaceutical drugs and influx of ATS from Myanmar to North Eastern States of India.
• Increase in trafficking through courier/parcels in India
• Trafficking of drugs by drones at Indo – Pak border
• Maritime trafficking of Heroin, ATS and other drugs from Iran / Pakistan to India and further to Sri Lanka and other countries.

WHY DEMO HAS LITTLE IMPACT ON DRUG TRADE?

The emergence of Darknet has changed the terms of the trade of the game for the Security agencies in the country. Why it is proving an Achilles hill for the anti-narco agencies has been reasoned below.

• As per NCB, Darknet refers to a part of the internet that is intentionally hidden and accessible only through use of specific software, configurations, or authorization, non-standard communication protocols and ports.
• The use of Darknet markets for drug trafficking refer to buying and selling of illicit substances through online platforms that operate on the Darknet.
• Here is how Darknet keep this shadow trade in dark.
• Darknet often rely on encryption and anonymity tools such as Tor (The Onion Router) to mask their identities and locations.
• This provides a level of privacy for both buyers and sellers involved in illegal transactions
• Financing drug trade become easier courtesy Darknet
• The Darknet markets typically use cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Monero etc. for transactions.
•  Cryptocurrencies offer a higher level of anonymity compared to traditional payment methods.
• As a consequence, it become challenging for the NCB or Police to trace financial transaction involving drug trade.
• Darknet markets allow for global transactions, enabling buyers and sellers from different parts of the world to connect and conduct illegal drug transactions.
• This global reach makes it harder for law enforcement agencies to effectively monitor and regulate such activities.
• Some Darknet markets use escrow services, where a third party temporarily holds the payment until the buyer receives the product. This is intended to provide a level of trust in transactions but can also facilitate illicit activities.
• In 2023, NCB has busted this Darknet drug trade in Delhi. The Delhi NCB had seized 14861 LSD blots.

DARKNET AND TERROR LINK

As per security experts, the dark web has not only become the drug traffickers preferred route but also has become a hotbed for cybercrime by non-state actors. Terrorist groups have expanded their cyber capabilities, using the dark web for recruitment drives, fundraising, and operational planning, facilitated by social media and emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI). 

ODISHA POLICE IN AGE OF DARK WEB

In the given backdrop, when security experts in earlier annual DGP conferences have flagged the link of rising cyber frauds with dark web. The 2023 report by Citizen Financial Cyber Fraud Reporting Management System shows the following.

 The above data shows that only in third cases of cyber fraud, the siphoning of money was put on hold and a mere 13% of money was recovered.

Besides rising cyber fraud cases in Odisha, the narco trade has also been rampant. Odisha has emerged as the Ganja (cannabis) major trafficker state in India. Here is the 2023 seizures.

• Ganja – 2071 quintals
• Heroin – 48kg 
• Codeine – 25 kg
• Codeine based cough syrup – 2.56 litres.

A glance at the above data shows that Odisha is not in the map of synthetic drugs, which were mostly traded via Darkweb. In the flourishing drug trade, two major drugs – cannabis and Heroin – were seized in Odisha. 

Though the zero seizure of synthetic drugs in Odisha hints at no large scale use of Darknet in drug trade, the arrest of Abdul Rehman and the presence of sleeper cells hint at fundraising by terrosist organisations and naxals via dark web to carry out their anti-national activities. As firearms keep proliferating in Odisha, this firearm trade also hints at the dakr web play in the State.  

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