Punjab close second behind Delhi in drug trafficking cases in 2024: NCB

Punjab, along with Uttar Pradesh (UP), stood joint second behind Delhi, which led in terms of drug trafficking cases in 2024, while the nation's capital recorded 208 cases in 2024.

Punjab and UP registered 193 cases each, with Haryana logging 113 cases. Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh recorded 103 and 102 cases, respectively, according to figures released by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) for last year.

Overall in terms of the seizure of drugs by drug law-enforcement agencies (DLEAs) like heroin, Punjab topped all states by seizing a whopping 1,150 kg of the drug in 2024, while another northern state Haryana seized 63 kg and the union territory of J&K seized 114 kg of heroin.

In case of the seizure of ganja, among northern states, Haryana led with a whopping 9,955 kg of seizure of the drug followed by the union territory of J&K with 1,168 kg of ganja. Punjab stood third with seizure of 863 kg of the drug in 2024 as per the NCB figures.

At the all-India level, Andhra Pradesh witnessed the seizure of a huge 53,983 kg of ganja, while Maharashtra stood second with a seizure of 55,351 kg of ganja.

In terms of cocaine seizures, Delhi topped among states with a record 1,396 kg of the drug seized in 2024, while Maharashtra stood a distant second with a seizure of only 37 kg of cocaine.

NCB sources said the use of drones for cross-border smuggling of narcotics had emerged as a significant threat to the country's internal security, mainly along the India-Pakistan border in Punjab.

They further said that there had been a sharp rise in drone sightings and seizures of narcotics in border districts like Amritsar, Tarn Taran, Ferozepur and Gurdaspur. In 2024, they said that the number of such seizures rose manifold to 179 cases compared to just three cases in 2021. The recovery consignments mainly consist of heroin and opium.

In 2024, 163 cases of smuggling of drugs through drones were recorded in Punjab, with 187 kg of heroin being the main drug being sent through this route. The other drugs included 5 kg of methamphetamine and 4 kg of opium.

Rajasthan recorded 15 such cases with 39 kg of heroin consignment being sent through drones from across the border by Pakistan.

Sources within the agency have expressed concern over the growing challenge in combating narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances due to geographic locations between the Death Crescent (Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran) and Death Triangle (Mynmar, Thailand and Laos), which are the two major drug producing regions of the world.

In addition, while states of Punjab, Rajasthan as well as the union territory of J&K are vulnerable to heroin smuggling from Pakistan, the northeastern states are affected by proximity to Myanmar.

The emergence of darknet markets and cryptocurrency-based transactions have significantly transformed drug trafficking by providing traffickers with enhanced anonymity and global accessibility. Also the convergence of dark net plaftorms and digital currencies along with courier services present a formidable challenge to the DLEAs globally.

After the Coronavirus pandemic, there was a rise in use of courier and postal services for drug smuggling, offering traffickers greater anonymity and direct to consumers. The number of such seizures rose in 2020 compared to 2019. However, from 2020 to 2024, there was a significant decline with the number of cases dropping to 173 in 2024 as compared to 259 in 2020.

The overall conviction rate in narcotics cases in 2024 for the NCB stood at 60.7 per cent with 110 convictions and 64 acquittals. Amritsar had three convictions and zero acquittals with a 100 per cent conviction rate while Chandigarh had six convictions and four acquittals, thus recording a conviction rate of 60 per cent.

In terms of complaints related to narcotics cases lodged in courts also, Delhi led with 30 complaints, followed by Chandigarh (with 18 complaints), Jammu (with 14 complaints) and Amritsar with nine complaints during 2024, as per the NCB data.