50%+ surge in narcotics cases filed as crackdown intensifies

NEw new delhi: The list of do drugs cases registered by jurisprudence enforcement agencies crossways India rose by nearly 53% in 2025 over the previous year, the sharpest increase in at least five years since 2021, even as drug seizures, by quantity, increased to 1,240 tonnes, according to the Narcotics Control Bureau’s (NCB) Annual Report 2025 released on Friday.The numbers need to be seen in the context of India’s fight against drugs, as the Centre has stepped up its campaign to achieve Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government’s goal of making India drug-free by 2047. Unveiling the government’s three-year Vision Document on Drug Control (2026-2029), Union home minister Amit Shah said the Centre would intensify its crackdown on drug trafficking networks while strengthening measures to curb drug abuse.“We must adopt a ruthless approach towards drug traffickers while maintaining a sympathetic approach towards the affected youth,” Shah said.According to the report, drug law enforcement agencies registered 148,063 cases and made 183,675 arrests in 2025, leading to the seizure of 1,240 tonnes of narcotics valued at ₹18,227 crore. Cannabis products, including marijuana, hashish and hashish oil, accounted for 51% (633,597 kg) of the total seizures, followed by opiates such as heroin, opium, morphine, codeine and poppy straw at 29% (361,423 kg).The number of cases increased from 68,144 in 2021 and 96,930 in 2024 to a five-year high of 148,063 in 2025. “Arrests followed a similar pattern growing from 93,538 in 2021 to 122,224 in 2024, and then surging to 183,675 in 2025,” the report said, adding that state police forces accounted for 94.8% (140,294) of the total cases.Shah also compared the Centre’s anti-drug enforcement record with that of the previous UPA government.“Between 2004 and 2014, drugs worth ₹40,000 crore and 26 lakh kilograms of synthetic drugs were seized. In contrast, from 2014 to 2026, drugs worth ₹1.84 lakh crore and 1.18 crore kilograms have been seized. This shows that our campaign is moving forward successfully. In the next three years, we will make massive progress towards eliminating the drug networks in India,” he said.The report identified four major drug trafficking corridors into India -- the Golden Crescent (Afghanistan-Pakistan-Iran), the Golden Triangle (Myanmar), the Indian Ocean maritime route and the Balkan route. Punjab, Rajasthan and Gujarat remain the main entry points for heroin, opium and hashish from the Golden Crescent, while Manipur and Mizoram receive methamphetamine, heroin and Yaba tablets from the Golden Triangle.The NCB said Myanmar has overtaken Afghanistan as the world’s largest illicit opium producer after the Taliban’s 2022 poppy ban, making India’s northeastern states increasingly vulnerable to trafficking.The report also flagged the rapid rise in drone-based drug smuggling along the India-Pakistan border. Drone-linked cases rose from just three in 2021, involving 10 kg of drugs, to 305 cases involving 468 kg in 2025. Punjab accounted for 298 of these cases and 461 kg of seizures, mostly heroin.“India is geographically located between the Golden Triangle and the Golden Crescent, while drug traffickers have adopted advanced methods such as drone drops, containerised sea cargo, the darknet, crypto payments, parcel shipments and order-to-delivery models. Our response to this difficult battle must also be collective and organized, roadmap-based, modern, and intelligence-led. Our approach should be technology-driven, and we must wage a network-centric war with a ruthless approach,” Shah said.