 "The rising threat of drugs in India: A few major busts across the country")
The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on Tuesday busted a drug trafficking network, which was operational pan-India. The operation resulted in the largest-ever drug bust by the NCB in two decades, seizing 15,000 blots of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD).
LSD is a synthetic chemical based-drug that comes as a white powder or clear colorless liquid and is taken by mouth.
During the investigation, the NCB found out that the cartel used to advertise on the dark net — a deep hidden internet platform that is operated using the onion router (ToR) — and would also reach out to people on social media platforms.
In recent years, the agency has been successful in busting a huge number of drug trafficking networks across the country.
In May, the NCB and the Indian Navy seized 2,500 kg “high-purity methamphetamine”, estimated to be worth Rs 12,000 crore in the illegal drugs market, from an undisclosed location in the Indian waters and detained a suspected Pakistani national.
In the past five years, there has been a sudden increase in the seizure of drugs across the country. Huge quantities of drugs are being seized by law enforcement agencies, including the NCB, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), Indian Coast Guard, anti-terrorist squads (ATS) and the police.
Gujarat has emerged as a state where the maximum quantity of drugs has been seized with increasing frequency since 2021.
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In February this year, in a joint operation conducted by the NCB and the Indian Navy, 750 kg of drugs valued at Rs 2,000 crore were seized from a ship off the Gujarat coast.
In April, in a joint operation by the ATS and the DRI, 260 kg of heroin was seized at the Kandla Port in Gujarat.
In September last year, a Special Cell from Delhi’s Southeast district arrested two Afghan nationals for possessing 312.5 kg of methamphetamines and 10 kg of heroin, with an estimated international value of over Rs 1,200 crore.
In July last year, the Punjab Police and the Gujarat ATS, in a joint operation, seized 75 kg of high-quality heroin from a container at the Mundra Port in Kutch district.
Around 330 kg and 354 kg of heroin were seized in 2019 and 2021, respectively.
In January 2021, a massive drug racket was busted at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi. Two Ugandan women and a Nigerian man were busted at the airport for possession of heroin and cocaine. As many as 51 pouches containing 9.8 kg of white powdery substances were recovered. It was reported that the total value of the drugs was Rs 68 crores.
According to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime’s World Drug Report 2022, India emerged as one of the world’s single largest opiate markets in terms of users. While Punjab and Himachal Pradesh were leading states in India’s epidemic of opioid users, Gujarat emerged as the third-worst state in terms of deaths due to drug overdose, the report said.