The security agencies have launched an all-out war against drug cartels and while doing so, they have realised that India has become a major hub for cocaine and methamphetamine.
The year 2024 witnessed some very big busts involving both cocaine and meth. The quantities were so large that it pointed towards the role of major international cartels which have now made Bharat their playground. While India has always been a major hub for drug smuggling, over the years, the number of routes have only increased. Earlier one would witness a large chunk of drugs coming in from Afghanistan and Pakistan using the route through Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab.
However today the advent of the southern sea routes is what is causing a large part of the problem. $10.7 billion is no small amount and this is the value of the drugs that were seized in the country only for the year 2024. Now, this is the figure that one knows of due to the drugs that were seized. What about the drugs that got away and entered the markets. If one were to add that the numbers would be very large.
DRI on its toes
Cocaine has a large number of buyers in India. The sheer volumes in which cocaine is being smuggled into India has kept the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence on its toes.
Almost all the cocaine makes its way into the country through the air route. A DRI report said that smugglers hire drugs in luggage, courier packages and even have them ingested by human carriers. The DRI also adds that the latest headache adding to the already existing is the advent of methamphetamine. Investigations have shown that there is a major uptick in the smuggling of meth due to its immense demand in the northeastern states such as Assam and Mizoram in particular.
The emergence of black cocaine is another problem that the agencies have to deal with. This drug is difficult to detect and can be smuggled in easily as the smugglers mask it with substances such as iron oxide or charcoal creating a black powder. This is a method that helps smugglers evade drug-sniffing methods.
The reason why the country has become such a hub for drugs is because the number of users are increasing in large numbers. Between 2018 and 2004, the number of drug users increased 600 per cent.
By 2018 according to the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, there were 23 million opioid users. In the next couple of years, the number of users has only increased in large numbers. This sheer demand has made the country a favourite destination for drug cartels.
Studies and investigations have shown that there is a huge demand for crustal meth, marijuana, synthetic drugs and heroin. However, the agencies are most worried about the increasing use of meth. They have found that there has been an increase in home laboratories producing meth in various parts of the country. This indicates that the demand is so high that paddlers need to rely on homemade meth as the international supply is clearly falling short.
A 2023 report submitted in the Parliament revealed that there has been rampant drug abuse in Punjab. There has been a trend where the addiction is growing among children. Over 6.6 million drug users were found in Punjab of which 697,000 are children in the age group of 10 to 17 years. Of these 343,000 children consume opioid drugs including heroin, 181,000 cocaine while 72,000 use other substances.
A hub at Greater Noida
In recent times Greater Noida has emerged as a major destination considering the number of drug busts that have taken place. Towards the end of 2024, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) uncovered a meth lab in Greater Noida which was linked to a Mexican drug cartel.
Around 95 kilograms of methamphetamine was seized by the NCB. The agency also seized precursor chemicals and manufacturing equipment. Last year in April, four Nigerian nationals were arrested with 26 kilograms of illicit drugs.
According to a report by the UN anti-drug agency UNODC, India is a major hub of illicit shipments of precursor drugs which are destined for meth labs internationally. It was found that the precursor drugs which land in India are then smuggled in Myanmar and destinations in Africa and Central America.
The government of India has set up the four tier Narco Coordination mechanism called NCORD. This is aimed at enhancing coordination between the agencies both at the central and state levels. Further this mechanism is also aimed at bettering the coordination between the various ministries so that the agencies at both levels could work seamlessly and in real time.
