Drug Trafficking In The Country

As per latest data published by National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) pertaining to the year 2022, the State/UT-wise number of Cases Registered (CR) under the Narcotic Drugs & Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS Act), 1985 for possession of drugs for trafficking during 2020-2022 is at Annexure-I.

Use of Darknet, Crypto-currencies and parcel/couriers for drug trafficking have been noticed. Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has booked 92 cases involving Dark net and Crypto-currencies whereas 1025 cases involving parcel/ couriers have been reported by all Drug Law Enforcement Agencies during the years 2020-2024 (till April). Details of number of cases year-wise is at Annexure- II.

The steps taken by the Government to reduce drug trafficking in the country are detailed below: –

1. The Government has introduced and strengthened the 4 tier NCORD mechanism (Apex, Executive, State & District level) to have effective coordination of actions among various Ministries, Departments, Central and States Law Enforcement Agencies dealing with narcotics.
2. Dedicated Anti-Narcotics Task Force (ANTF) headed by ADG/IG level Police Officer has been established in each State/UT.
3. An NCORD portal has been developed which is an all-in-one portal for information related to drug law enforcement.
4. The Government has launched 1933- MANAS Helpline designed as a unified platform for citizens to report the drug-related issues via multiple communication. It will work as an Interface with public for sharing inputs on Narcotic Crimes/ trafficking.
5. To monitor the investigation of significant and important drug cases including cases of narco-terrorism, a Joint Coordination Committee (JCC) with DG, NCB as its Chairman has been set up.
6. A Special Task Force on Darknet and Crypto Currency has been constituted to monitor suspicious transactions related to drugs on Darknet.
7. BSF, SSB, Assam Rifles and Indian Coast Guard have been empowered under Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985 to make interdiction of drugs along land and Sea border areas.
8. To prevent Inter-State movement of narcotic drugs across the country by railway network, the Railway Protection Force (RPF) has also been empowered under NDPS Act, 1985.
9. NCB has increased its Regional Offices from 03 to 07 and upgraded its Sub-Zones to Zones making a total of 30 Zonal Units across the country.
10. A high level Multi Agency Maritime Security Group (MAMSG) has been created in National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS) to analyze the drug trafficking through maritime routes, challenges and solutions.
11. Narcotics Control Bureau in association with Interoperable Criminal Justice System (ICJS) has created a portal called National Integrated Database About arrested NDPS Offenders (NIDAAN).
12. With a view to bring uniformity in Drug Law Enforcement training across India, Narcotics Control Bureau in collaboration with other departments has developed a core module and five training modules. Training programmes on Digital Forensics, Darknet and Crypto currency are also being organized.
13. Nar-K9 pool – a National Canine Pool has been established at 10 locations as a national resource to serve the interests of Narcotics Control Bureau Zonal Units as well as cater to the requirements of the States and other Central agencies.

To address the problem of Drug Abuse, Government has formulated and implemented the National Action Plan for Drug Demand Reduction (NAPDDR) under which the Government is taking a sustained and coordinated action for arresting the problem of substance abuse among the youth. This includes:

1. Launching of Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan (NMBA) in all districts of the   country   through more than 8000 youth volunteers   and   has reached out to more-than 11 crore people including 3.53 crore youth and 2.34 crore women.
2. 345 Integrated Rehabilitation Centres for Addicts (IRCAs) are supported by the Government to provide treatment for the drug victims, preventive education, awareness generation, motivational counselling, detoxification/de-addiction, after care and re-integration into the social mainstream.
3. 47 Community based Peer led Intervention (CPLI) Centres supported by the Government focuses on vulnerable and at-risk children and adolescents.
4. 74 Outreach and Drop-in Centres (ODICs) supported by the Government provide safe and secure space for treatment,

rehabilitation, screening, assessment, counselling, referral, linkage for treatment and rehabilitation services for substance users.

1. 105 Addiction Treatment Facilities (ATFs) has been established in Government hospitals through All India Institute of Medical science (AIIMS), New Delhi.
2. 71 District De-addiction Centres (DDACs) which provides all three facilities provided by IRCA, ODIC and CPLI under one roof have been set up so far.

1. A Toll-free Helpline for de-addiction, 14446 is operated for providing primary counselling and immediate assistance to persons seeking help.
2. Government through its autonomous body National Institute of Social Defense (NISD) and other collaborating agencies like State Counsel of Educational Research and Training (SCERTs), Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan, etc. provides for regular awareness generation and sensitization sessions for all stakeholders including students, teachers, parents.
3. Navchetna Modules, teachers training modules have been developed by Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment (MoSJE) for sensitizing students (6th – 11th standard), teachers and parents on drug dependence, related coping strategies and life skills.

Annexure-I

State/UT-wise details of Cases Registered (CR) for drug trafficking under the Narcotic Drugs & Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 for the year 2020-2022

 

SL	State/UT	2020	2021	2022
1	Andhra Pradesh	602	1085	870
2	Arunachal Pradesh	36	45	71
3	Assam	501	1026	1509
4	Bihar	83	255	181
5	Chhattisgarh	815	1092	1085
6	Goa	70	64	91
7	Gujarat	191	261	297
8	Haryana	1277	1143	1612
9	Himachal Pradesh	1148	1089	1101
10	Jharkhand	172	280	260
11	Karnataka	956	1199	1229
12	Kerala	386	597	1660
13	Madhya Pradesh	1644	1959	2169
14	Maharashtra	647	1504	1544
15	Manipur	203	229	386
16	Meghalaya	53	36	48
17	Mizoram	50	65	149
18	Nagaland #	52	80	94
19	Odisha	1031	1459	1827
20	Punjab	4039	5766	7433
21	Rajasthan	1735	1971	2428
22	Sikkim	11	26	19
23	Tamil Nadu	1252	1909	2590
24	Telangana	245	624	524
25	Tripura	273	331	521
26	Uttar Pradesh	5889	4819	4920
27	Uttarakhand	607	280	206
28	West Bengal	1217	1376	1174
	TOTAL STATE(S)	25185	30570	35998
29	A&N Islands	11	3	32
30	Chandigarh	134	89	182
31	D&N Haveli and Daman & Diu	1	0	0
32	Delhi	290	294	383
33	Jammu & Kashmir	933	1324	1443
34	Ladakh	0	3	5
35	Lakshadweep	0	1	1
36	Puducherry	6	18	20
	TOTAL UT(S)	1375	1732	2066
	TOTAL (ALL INDIA)	26560	32302	38064

 Source: Crime in India, 2022, NCRB.

# Clarifications are pending from Nagaland for the year 2022

Annexure-II

Delhi Customs Preventive Zone destroys 147 kg illegal narcotic substances worth Rs. 396.5 crore

Number of cases of Drug seizure involving Darknet, Crypto Currencies by Narcotics Control Bureau and Couriers/ parcel as reported by all Drug Law Enforcement Agencies:

Year	No of Cases involving Darknet & Cryptocurrency	No of cases involving Courier/ Parcels
2020	03	259
2021	49	250
2022	08	240
2023	21	241
2024 (Upto April)	11	35
TOTAL	92	1025

Source: Narcotics Control Bureau

This was stated by the Minister of State for Home Affairs, Shri Nityanand Rai in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha.