Insightful newsletter of Drishtikone: Issue #110 - Detailed look at Indian Drug trade; Now Norway?

Insightful newsletter of Drishtikone: Issue #110 - Detailed look at Indian Drug trade; Now Norway?

(Photo by Abhidev Vaishnav on Unsplash)

“I have drunken deep of joy, And I will taste no other wine tonight.” ― Percy Bysshe Shelley

The smile of a child is the most amazing wonder in the world.  It holds vulnerability, love, amazement, curiosity, and warmth all at the same time.

Have we made our world worthy of the next generation?  Or are we merely surviving with the hope that our kids and their kids will somehow fend for themselves?

Drugs and debauchery in our society have reached levels that were unheard of.  The only way to remain safe is probably to be unsuccessful.  The elite of the land - the celebrities, the politicians, the media, the industrialists - are bonded together by addictions and crimes as opposed to a national purpose.

Addictions that were fueled and funded by the power that was available at hand because the clique was working without obstacles.

Despite the crimes, despite the lies, the ordinary public was given a remarkable cocktail of glib messaging and gamed media imagery.

As the public was milked, it was given enough crumbs so that they could feel good.  The problem, however, was that the governing and the rich elite were plundering the nation.  Unhindered.

That status quo has been challenged.  The battle of dismantling the system has now reached a stage where the most fundamental part of this edifice is being looked at.

Just as weaning away of an addict from his drug creates a violent reaction, the dismantling of the power structures has created a similar reaction and campaign.  That campaign will get even worse.

The addicted and the entitled will push back.  Revv up the entire onslaught.  Ratchet up the glib messaging.

Do we have the Vivek - ability to discriminate?


the drug trade in India

In December 2019, The Narcotics Control Bureau seized 20 kgs of grade-A Colombian cocaine in Delhi.  It was meant for the Christmas and the New Year season.  The kingpin of this racket was an Indonesian woman named Monika Rainheart and she was arrested from the Ambience Mall in Vasant Kunj.  The tip-off had come from Australia, where 55 kg of cocaine had been seized there which had links to Delhi and India.

The facts emerging show that this illegal trade traverses through many continents

The cartel mastermind, whom Rainheart reports to, is an Indian-origin man based in Canada. The mastermind has a network of drug dealers in South America, especially Columbia and Brazil, on his payroll. “This cartel even took multiple properties at well-known housing complexes in Ghaziabad on rent that were used to store drugs. Sodhi used to assist the group in delivering the cocaine to clients and their destinations around malls and other public places,” said Malhotra. Before sending out his men for delivery, Sodhi used to used to do a recce of the area to look for any suspicious movement. None of the members of the cartel would know each other’s real name or identity as transactions were usually made without revealing the identity of a sender or buyer. For the past few weeks, Rainheart has been personally monitoring the transactions since the cartel members, based in Canada, Nigeria and Australia, had turned cautious after their consignment to Australia containing 200kg of Methamphetamine and 55kg of finished cocaine was busted. They were trying to shift the base from Ghaziabad to a new location and were on the verge of vacating the properties, police said. A day before the raid, Sodhi had given a bag full of cocaine to Ramkesh Singh and told him to keep in safe custody till they return to Ghaziabad. This consignment was seized from Singh. (Source)

So, the cartel was being masterminded from Canada, run by an Indonesian woman in Delhi, with suppliers from Colombia and Brazil.  Now, that’s truly global.

narco-terrorism: drugs and terror combination

The foundation for narco-terrorism was laid by US President Ronald Reagan, whose administration betrayed his own country US in so many ways that it is difficult to even fathom.  In any case, let us see what the CIA did in the early 1980s.

When, in 1981, Hollywood actor Ron Reagen took office, the WhiteHouse gave fully 3 billion dollars worth of military aid to General Zia, the then military leader of Pakistan (neighbour to Afghanistan). This money was to be channelled by General Zia into the mujaheddin efforts to displace the Russians. It was through General Zia and the Inter-Service Intelligence (ISI) that the CIA were to work their covert operations in Afghanistan.  The fusion of the ISI and the CIA was a real big boy's club. As one foreign correspondent reported, "It was a proper marriage of mutual interest." A few years earlier, when general Zia first took power in Pakistan, the ISI was but a "trifling" military intelligence. But with the able assistance of the CIA, Zia built up the ISI to be the fist of his martial-law regime. (Source)

The link between narcotics trade, weapons proliferation, and terror has been known and even acknowledged many times.

For example, in a US Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Narco-Terrorism, in 2003, Arizona Senator Jon Kyl had shared examples of this collusion.  The Pakistanis were working with the drug trafficking rings to get weapons for Al-Qaeda.

There are many examples. Indeed, as Chairman Hatch has mentioned, the narco-terrorism connection was underscored by a November 2002 arrest in San Diego of two Pakistanis and one U.S. citizen for attempting to exchange 600 kilograms of heroin and 5 metric tons of hashish for cash and 4 Stinger anti-aircraft missiles to supply Al-Qaeda associates. (Source)

Many seizures were made in 2019 by the India.  And the information it brought forth was interesting.  The drugs are brought into Pakistan in tons from Afghanistan and split in smaller quantities of 100kg or 200 kg.  The fishing vessels are then used to transport these contraband to India.

Side note: was one of these fishing vessels and routes used by the 26/11 Mumbai attackers?

The insights gleaned from these seizures are shared by N.C. Bipindra (Chairman of Law and Society Alliance, a Delhi-based think tank) (Source):

  • Involvement of Pakistani nationals linked with ISIS as the kingpins. They are the ones who procure and further distribute it to countries like Maldives, Sri Lanka, Seychelles, India, Mozambique, Tanzania, and Kenya from where it is further transported to the West.
  • ISIS-linked Pakistan gangs use the Makran coast as the staging point and also use the traditional dhows that are plying between West and South Asia as a part of their distribution channels.

On March 5, in a similar operation, the Sri Lanka Navy had seized 500 kg of heroin and 100 kg of methamphetamine and arrested 16 persons, including eight from Pakistan. The contraband’s origin was traced to Pakistan’s Makran coast.

  • The network has Pakistani nationals based in Sri Lanka, Maldives, Dubai, and East Africa to assist the kingpins in Pakistan.
  • The involvement of Nigerians is also noticed in the transactions, which leads to the suspicion of Heroin moving out and Cocaine coming into the region.

Heroin moving out and Cocaine coming into the region.

Cocaine - the high society drug

The acquisition of high-quality grade-A cocaine may have been the key to ISI starting to take control of Bollywood and Elite Indian powerful lobby with that cultivating them as “sleeper cells” within the polity and society of India.

They are constantly “deployed” in a cultural war and can be brandished during real wars.  As it had happened during Balakot when the Armed forces and the government were humiliated while doubts were raised.

Between 2009 and 2013, according to the NCB (pdf), cases related to cocaine jumped 73%.  Colombia is the center of the cocaine trade since it has been the largest producer of coca leaves since the 1980s.  It was supplying 74% of the world’s coca leaves by 2000.  That has come down though, but that its trade is still worth $10 billion annually.  Colombia exports 309 tons of the purest form of coke annually.

Now, these Colombian cartels are trying to make inroads into India. (Source)

The battle between inclusivity and exclusivity

Came across a very interesting thread by Aairah Hasan.  She shares her views on why she feels that “Islam definitely going to capture India very soon like we captured #Afghanistan, #Pakistan, #Bangladesh, #Indonesia, etc. which were once Hindu lands?”

Worth reading.

You can click on the tweet above and go through the rest of the thread.  Her thoughts and arguments remind one of two quotes from Greece in 532 AD.

One was a “Pagan” orator, arguably the most powerful one at that time and by a priest who was made a saint by the Church. (PS: if you closely read the quote from the “pagan writer, you will clearly see that it is almost a translation of एकम् सत् विप्रा बहुधा वदन्ति!

Symmachus was called the “Last Pagan Orator” who unsuccessfully pleaded for the altar in Roman Senate to not be broken (from the “The Darkening Age“)

The battle between inclusivity and exclusivity is so very clear.  Only the legacy of one survived because only one’s objectives succeeded.  Any need to guess who wins these battles?

approaching catastrophe: now Norway?

After the Swedish riots, extremist attacks have now spread to Norway.  All because one group took out a rally to stop Islamization of Norway.

Btw, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, and Norway are the most fertile recruiting grounds for ISIS fighters! More Muslims from Norway went to fight for ISIS than from Pakistan!

Now, that is some benchmark, ain’t it?! (Source)

Given what we learned yesterday about Sweden, along with Grooming gangs and then the sway of ISIS over the “migrants” in the Nordic countries - one can easily see that Europe has a tough road ahead in the coming decades.

internal civil war?

With such an obviously skewed situation where one group is being favored despite the crimes - all in the name of some ideal - one can foresee how it will come to a breaking point where the humiliation of the locals Europeans will make them see the reality of their future.   It is in these scenarios that people like Hitlers are born.  In our own lifetimes, we will see the emergence of internal civil wars in Europe of the type that we have not heard of.  Most of the tolerant laws, governance structures, and even institutions will break down.

This is not our wish, because it will have a terrible impact everywhere.  However, the social dynamics are coming to a point of breaking down.  At that point, there are no real laws left.  For the most fundamental integrity of the justice system has eroded.

nota bene

India as Toy Capital: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said India has a talent and ability to become a toy hub for the entire world and called upon startups to work towards realizing this potential while being "vocal about local toys". He said the global toy industry is over ₹ 7 lakh crore but India's share is very small, as he stressed the need to work to increase it.  (Source)

Lowest COVID fatality: As India on Saturday recorded the world's highest single-day rise of 76,472 COVID cases, the government cited 76.47 percent recovery rate and 1.81 percent case-fatality rate to stress that the country had made tremendous strides in containing the infection.  (Source)

Rising Divorces from COVID: Divorce rates in America soar by 34% during the COVID-19 pandemic with marriages crumbling three weeks into quarantine and newlywed separations doubling to 20 percent (Source)

Iranian Journalist malware attack: An Iranian cyberespionage group known for targeting government, defense technology, military, and diplomacy sectors is now impersonating journalists to approach targets via LinkedIn and WhatsApp and infect their devices with malware.  Detailing the new tactics of the "Charming Kitten" APT group, Israeli firm Clearsky said, "starting July 2020, we have identified a new TTP of the group, impersonating 'Deutsche Welle' and the 'Jewish Journal' using emails alongside WhatsApp messages as their main platform to approach the target and convince them to open a malicious link."  (Source)

Changing Medium: Medium says it had 1.2B page views in Q2 and now has “several hundred thousand” paying subscribers and will start offering custom domains again (Source)

Major Dhyan Chand - the forgotten legend

I grew up loving hockey and its legend.  The family was linked to hockey establishment in some way and one saw matches regularly.

I used to spend hours pouring over the hockey team structure for every Olympic since 1928 to modern times.  Including the scores in every match.

Dhyan Chand was always talked in very reverent terms even within the household.  But it was also well understood that even though he was the greatest ever hockey player from India, it wasn’t he who was the best dribbler than India has produced.  That was KD Singh Babu.  Another Olympian who had also won 3 Gold medals.  It is often said that Babu had learned his dribbling skills by taking a hockey and a ball and running through the streets in Lucknow with the aim of not letting it touch anyone.  Dhyan Chand was a strategic mind and one who could dodge the opposite player in the best way.

Interestingly, not many youngsters know now that Dhyan Chand’s son Ashok Kumar was also a very good hockey player and was the captain of the Hockey team in Moscow Olympics where India again won the Gold after many years, and the last time!

Btw, one of the players on Dhyan Chand’s teams in three Olympics was a gentleman named Iftikhar Ali Khan Pataudi.

Here is a nice video on Major Dhyan Chand.

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