India’s war on drugs: Rs 25,000 crore worth of narcotics seized in 2024

NEW DELHI: India’s law enforcement agencies have, in a first-of-its-kind crackdown on drug trafficking, seized narcotics worth approximately Rs 25,330 crore in 2024, an increase of 55 per cent from the Rs 16,100 crore seized in 2023.

It is the first year 2024 has recorded alarming seizures of high-value narcotics, including synthetic drugs, cocaine, and pharmaceutical substances used as psychotropic drugs. Amphetamine-Type Stimulants (ATS), such as methamphetamine, witnessed an increase more than double that of the year 2023, reaching 80 quintals against 34 quintals.

The amount of cocaine seizures rose to 1,426 kg against 292 kg, while that of mephedrone rose to 3,391 kg against 688 kg.

The quantity of hashish confiscated also increased significantly from 34 quintals to 61 quintals, and pharmaceutical drug seizures saw a dramatic rise from 1.84 crore tablets in 2023 to 4.69 crore in 2024.

A number of significant operations by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) in coordination with a number of national and international agencies were instrumental in these historic seizures.

In February, an NCB operation in coordination with the Delhi Police Special Cell and Australian and New Zealand law enforcement agencies brought down a global drug syndicate, with 50 kg of pseudoephedrine seized.

Shortly thereafter, Operation Sagar Manthan-1 by the NCB, Indian Navy, and the Gujarat ATS yielded 3,300 kg of drugs offshore, including charas, methamphetamine, and heroin. It is one of India’s biggest maritime drug seizures.

In March, the NCB arrested Jaffer Sadiq, the suspected mastermind of a big trafficking syndicate, who has been on the run since February.

In April, a joint sea operation by the NCB, Gujarat ATS, and the Indian Coast Guard intercepted a foreign ship with 86 kg of heroin worth Rs 602 crore, and 14 Pakistani nationals were arrested.

The crackdown continued in October when NCB raided a factory in the Kasna Industrial Area of Gautam Budh Nagar and found 95 kg of methamphetamine, raw material, and imported machinery used for large-scale drug production.

In November, the NCB busted one of the biggest cocaine syndicates in Delhi-NCR, recovering 82.53 kg of high-grade cocaine from the Janakpuri and Nangloi areas. Later that month, Operation Sagar Manthan-4 led to the seizure of 700 kg of methamphetamine from an international cartel operating in Gujarat.