New Delhi: Thirty-six foreign nationals have been arrested and 1,166 kg of narcotics seized this year till March, Minister of State for Home Affairs Mullapally Ramachandran told the Lok Sabha Tuesday.
Twenty-eight of these arrests were made in various states while eight were held at borders, he said in a written reply to a question in the lower house of parliament on drug peddling by foreign nationals.
He said 350 foreigners were arrested in 2011 and 11,795 kg narcotics were recovered. In 2010, 302 arrests were made and 3,611 kg narcotics seized. In 2009, 271 arrests were made and 655 kg narcotics seized.
He said the government had taken steps to improve the coordination between drug law enforcement agencies and border security forces besides strengthening intelligence apparatus and implementing a scheme of monetary rewards for informers.
Surveillance along known drug routes and import and export points had been intensified, besides improving cooperation with foreign agencies and providing financial assistance to states with weak narcotic units, he added.
IANS
