By Rajnish Singh

New Delhi [India], September 18 (ANI): India's Coastal states are emerging as key hotspots for the smuggling of synthetic drugs and precursor chemicals, according to the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB)'s Annual Report 2024.

The report highlights that trafficking networks are increasingly exploiting maritime routes through Mumbai, Gujarat, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu, leading to a surge in seizures and arrests over the past five years.

The report reveals that maritime routes are increasingly being used by drug cartels due to relatively weaker surveillance compared to land borders. The quantity of drugs seized in maritime smuggling cases has risen nearly 500-fold since 2019.

In 2024 alone, the report reads, maritime enforcement agencies confiscated 10,564 kilograms of narcotics, excluding nearly 9.4 million NRX tablets and 1,000 injections. This marks a dramatic escalation compared to maritime seizures before 2020.

The report indicates a significant trend that shows a nearly 'sixfold increase' in the seizures of Synthetic drugs between 2019 and 2024.

Substances such as Amphetamine-Type Stimulants (ATS), Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), Mephedrone, and Methaqualone have become the most trafficked synthetic narcotics in India.

In 2024, approximately 11,994 kilograms of synthetic drugs were seized, compared to just 1,890 kilograms in 2019. Officials attribute this alarming rise to the high profitability of synthetic drugs and the growing market demand both domestically and internationally.

The report warns that synthetic narcotics have overtaken traditional drugs such as cannabis and opium in terms of profitability, with traffickers now focusing on methamphetamine and mephedrone production within India itself.

One of the most worrying trends flagged by the NCB is the discovery of multiple illicit drug manufacturing units across the country. In 2024 alone, enforcement agencies dismantled nine clandestine laboratories producing methamphetamine and mephedrone.

These labs were concentrated in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Punjab, the north-eastern states (including Manipur, Nagaland, and Mizoram), Delhi-NCR, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan. The seizures point to a well-organised domestic network supplying not only Indian markets but also feeding into international smuggling routes.

The NCB also recorded a steady rise in ATS seizures. In 2024, 8,406 kilograms of ATS were seized, nearly five times the 1,704 kilograms recovered in 2020.

Officials note that ATS trafficking is growing rapidly due to strong demand in South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Middle Eastern markets.

As per the report, India's vulnerability is amplified by its geographic location between two of the world's largest narcotics-producing regions: the 'Death Crescent' (Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iran) which remains the primary source of heroin, ATS, and hashish being smuggled into India largely through the western coast; and the 'Death Triangle' (Myanmar, Thailand, and Laos), the main supplier of methamphetamine and other synthetic drugs, often smuggled via India's eastern borders and maritime routes.

The report later pointed out that the traffickers frequently use major international ports like Chabahar in Iran, Gwadar, and Karachi in Pakistan as loading points for shipments bound for India.

As the NCB intensifies its crackdown, the focus is likely to remain on maritime interdiction, dismantling clandestine labs, and strengthening intelligence-sharing with global counterparts. With synthetic drugs rapidly replacing traditional narcotics as the traffickers' commodity of choice, India's fight against drug trafficking is entering a new and more dangerous phase. (ANI)