Land drug trafficking patterns in North-Eastern Region

Drug trafficking affects every country as either source, transit or destination regions. Criminal networks traffic a range of drugs including cannabis, cocaine, heroin and synthetics such as methamphetamine and fentanyl. As international borders become increasingly porous, global abuse and accessibility to drugs have become increasingly widespread. 

It is estimated that 80–90 per cent of the world’s heroin comes from Asia. The principal heroin producers in the Golden Triangle are the Lao People’s Democratic Republic and Myanmar. The primary heroin producers in the Golden Crescent are Afghanistan and Pakistan. This international trade involves growers, producers, transporters, suppliers and dealers. It affects all countries, undermining political and economic stability, ruining the lives of individuals and damaging communities.  

Drug trafficking is also often connected with other forms of crime, such as money laundering or corruption. Trafficking routes are used by criminal networks to transport other illicit products including firearms, human trafficking and wildlife trafficking.  

India is an attractive destination for international drug trafficking syndicates as they are quick to exploit non-existent or ineffective border (land, sea and air) controls, limited cross border and regional cooperation as well as serious deficiencies in the criminal justice systems. India shares borders with seven different countries namely Bangladesh, China, Pakistan, Nepal, Myanmar, Bhutan and Afghanistan, hence patrolling every mile is a physical impossibility, as well as not feasible economically. 

Myanmar, India’s gateway to Southeast Asia and a country which is the epicentre for opium, heroin, and methamphetamine trafficking poses a serious challenge to India’s national security due to the illicit flow of drugs from Myanmar to the North-eastern states of India. Myanmar is the largest producer of Opium poppy and the leading manufacturer of synthetic drugs and forms the ‘Golden Triangle’ along with Thailand and Laos. The Myanmar border is patrolled by the Assam Rifles and now CRPF. 

Trafficking within Myanmar, emanates from the Shan and Wa hills in the far north-eastern corner of the country. Heroin traffic moves within the country to Mandalay, the largest city in northern Myanmar to India. The Indian states of Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh share a porous border with Myanmar that enables easy drug trafficking in the region. Myanmar has its largest production of opium and other drugs in the Shan State and Kachin state which are also conflict-prone areas. India shares its border with the Kachin state of Myanmar. As Myanmar and the North-eastern states of India share historical and cultural similarities, this brotherhood facilitates smooth movement of narcotics. Along with Ethnic Armed Organisations (EAOs), Myanmar’s military the Tatmadaw or Junta and People’s Democratic Front (PDF) are part of the drug businesses flourishing in the region. The ongoing conflict between the Kuki tribe and the Meitei tribe, in Manipur is a direct offshoot of the drug trade in the area. There have been multiple seizures of tons of methamphetamines across Manipur and Mizoram, by different enforcement agencies. Another disturbing factor is that drug trafficking revenues has enabled the Kuki militants to acquire sophisticated weapons like RPG’s, AK, INSAS, and SLR’s, which are being used against civilians and CRPF.  

The major trafficking routes are the Indo-Myanmar border, Moreh in Manipur, New Somtal to Sugnu, Kheiman to Behiang, and Somrah. With the Chin population from Myanmar illegally settling in Manipur, the movement of drugs has also become a major remunerative occupation for the settlers. 

In 2023, Myanmar became the world’s top opium producer, with illicit crop cultivation expanding from 99,000 to 116,000 acres. This rise has intensified the threat of drug trafficking in the North Eastern Region (NER). In FY 2022-23 alone, contraband worth over US$267 million were recovered in the NER states.  

India shares a 1,751-km border with Nepal that has become the hub for smuggling drugs, weapons and fertilizers, besides human trafficking. The Nepal and Bhutan border is patrolled by the Sashstra Seema Bal (SSB) which is the designated force to guard the 1,751 km long front on India's eastern side running along the states of  Bihar, Sikkim, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Bengal. 

In October 2024 drugs and weapons were seized at Krishnanagar border post. On the 21st of October, Nepal Police confiscated Rs 2.05 million in undeclared money at Krishnanagar’s main border gate. There are six security checkpoints along a 10-kilometer route from Bahadurgunj to Krishnanagar, with five manned by Nepal Police and one by Customs. 

In July 2022 Nepal Police confiscated two kilos of uranium in Biratnagar near the Nepal-India border which were being smuggled into India. The traffickers attempted to smuggle the extremely radioactive substance into foreign countries via India. The smugglers had planned to cross the border into India via Jogbani, a border town in Bihar’s Araria district. However, the Nepal police thwarted their strategy. The massive collection of radioactive material has sounded the alarm for Indian security officials. Uranium is used in the production of nuclear weapons. It may also be used in missiles, tiny shells, and bullets. 

On 22nd March 2024, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) officers unearthed an international syndicate and seized 1.59 kg (gross wt.) cocaine, valued at about Rs 15 crore, in New Delhi.  A syndicate was engaged in smuggling of cocaine into India from Africa via Indo-Nepal border. The syndicate was engaged in smuggling of Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) into India from Africa via Indo-Nepal border. The Indo-Nepal border in Bihar’s East Champaran, West Champaran and Sitamarhi are also hotspots for drugs. The Nepal-India border connected to Bardiya spans 83 kilometres, with Badhaiyatal Rural Municipality, Gulariya, Basgadhi, and Madhuwan Municipalities being the areas most affected by drug smuggling. 

India and Nepal will hold their annual border talks in Kathmandu from November 16th to 18th 2024, to discuss a host of issues related to curbing trans-frontier crimes and timely sharing of intelligence inputs. This will be the eighth edition of this bilateral meeting. These annual talks have been taking place since 2012 and are alternatively held in India and Nepal. The India-Nepal border is prone to illegal crossovers by anti-national elements including third country nationals as it is largely unfenced and open. 

The writer is Former Director General, National Academy of Customs, Indirect Taxes & Narcotics