The Narcotics Control Bureau’s (NCB) Annual Report 2024 paints an alarming picture of the growing narcotics threat facing India, highlighting the unprecedented use of Pakistani drones for cross-border drug smuggling.

According to the report, there has been a sharp surge since 2021, with seizures of drug-laden drones climbing from just three cases in 2021 to 179 cases in 2024, of which 163 occurred in Punjab, 15 in Rajasthan, and one in Jammu & Kashmir.

The bordering districts of Amritsar, Tarn Taran, Ferozepur and Gurdaspur were particularly impacted, with heroin and opium making up the bulk of the 236 kg of contraband seized.

The report warns that drones have effectively replaced traditional smuggling methods, posing a significant internal security challenge, as they allow traffickers to bypass physical barriers and patrol surveillance.

Equally worrying is the exponential six-fold growth in synthetic drug seizures during the period 2019–24, which points towards a deepening consumption pattern among urban populations, especially youth.

In 2024 alone, agencies confiscated nearly 11,994 kgs of synthetic drugs (including ATS, MDMA, mephedrone, methaqualone), up from 1,890 kgs in 2019, marking a huge rise driven by profitability and demand. Synthetic substances like mephedrone (“meow meow”) saw an especially sharp escalation, touching 3,359 kgs in 2024 compared to only 275 kgs in 2020.

At the same time, a disturbing 78-fold increase in cocaine seizures was reported since 2020, culminating in 1,483 kgs seized in 2024, while the maritime seizures of narcotics skyrocketed to 10,564 kgs in the same year — a nearly 500-times jump compared to 2019. Maritime smuggling now emerges as a massive concern due to India’s strategic Indian Ocean location, which places it along the southern route of heroin trafficking from Afghanistan.

The report elaborates on the global drug geography by noting that the “Death Crescent” (Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan) remains the epicentre for heroin, ATS and hashish reaching India, while the “Death Triangle” (Myanmar, Laos, Thailand) supports methamphetamine supply on the eastern front. Key ports like Chabahar (Iran), Gwadar and Karachi (Pakistan) are central nodes for trafficking consignments routed into India’s shores.

On the domestic front, injectable drug abuse has also emerged as a disturbing trend, with over 2.75 lakh drug injection units worth ₹4.54 crore confiscated in 2024, primarily from Punjab and Maharashtra.

For enforcement, the government has vastly expanded recourse to detention powers under the PITNDPS Act, issuing 531 detention orders in 2024 — the highest-ever — compared to just 107 in 2020, leading to the incarceration of 483 traffickers and cartel operatives.

The Home Ministry has directed state agencies to increasingly exploit this provision to dismantle the kingpin-financier networks driving narcotics inflow. Adding to the landscape of concern, the report flags the emergence of mescaline (a psychedelic hallucinogen) in trafficking routes, with 25 kgs seized during 2024, which signals a shift in cartels’ orientation towards hallucinogenic synthetic drugs.

Overall, the report underscores that India faces a multi-dimensional narcotics threat — drones redefining border smuggling, maritime seizures swelling, and synthetic drug demand booming — all of which intensify challenges for enforcement and point towards narcotics trafficking as a critical internal security issue intertwined with transnational crime networks.

Based On A PTI Report