The Government has intensified measures to curb cross-border narcotics trafficking, strengthening coordination among agencies including the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), Indian Navy, Indian Coast Guard, Border Security Force (BSF), State Anti-Narcotics Task Forces and other enforcement agencies for joint operations and real-time intelligence sharing.
To improve operational reach, the NCB has established Zonal Units in Srinagar, Siliguri, Agartala and Itanagar, while approving six additional zonal offices, including four in the Northeast at Dimapur, Aizawl, Shillong and Gangtok.
Border security has also been reinforced through the deployment of anti-drone systems, enhanced surveillance infrastructure such as CCTV cameras, PTZ cameras and night vision devices, along with upgraded border fencing and floodlighting in vulnerable areas.
The Government noted that drug trafficking patterns in the Northeast have evolved significantly. While heroin trafficking continues, there has been a sharp rise in the smuggling of methamphetamine, including crystal meth and YABA, from Myanmar through Manipur, Mizoram and Nagaland. Authorities have also detected the movement of precursor chemicals from different parts of India into Myanmar for the illegal manufacture of synthetic drugs.
Trafficking syndicates are increasingly exploiting porous stretches of the Indo-Myanmar border, forest routes and hilly terrain. They are concealing narcotics in cargo and passenger vehicles while using courier services, parcel networks, social media and encrypted communication platforms to coordinate operations. The Moreh–Tamu border remains a key transit corridor for heroin and methamphetamine entering India from Myanmar.
According to the latest National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data for 2024, state-wise details of narcotics seizures, arrests and convictions between 2020 and 2024 have been compiled in the report’s annexures.
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