Rising Female Involvement in Punjab's Drug Trade Sparks Alarm

Punjab's escalating drug crisis sees a disturbing rise in female involvement in trafficking and addiction.

- NEERAJ MOHAN

Punjab's battle against drugs has taken a disturbing turn, with an alarming rise in the involvement of women in both the trafficking and consumption of narcotics. Recent data and high-profile arrests reveal how organised drug cartels are exploiting vulnerable women, luring them into a dark web of addiction and criminal activity.

From being used as mules and couriers to rising as full-fledged operatives and even cartel leaders, women's involvement in the drug trade is rapidly increasing—highlighting a disturbing shift in the state's worsening narcotics crisis.

The figures from the Punjab police highlight this concerning trend, with 407 women arrested across all 23 districts of Punjab since March 1, 2025, as part of the state-wide anti-drug campaign "Yudh Nasheyan Virudh". Hoshiarpur leads the arrests with 43, followed by Sangrur (33), Jalandhar Rural (28), Ludhiana CP (27), Patiala (24), Barnala (21), Kapurthala (21), Faridkot (17), Gurdaspur (16), Muktsar (16), Moga (15), Amritsar CP (14), Ludhiana Rural (14), SBS Nagar (14), and Mansa (12).

This figure adds to the already rising trend of female arrests in the state under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. From 2020 to 2022, the number of women arrested for drug smuggling in Punjab nearly doubled, rising from 788 to 1,448—making up almost 35% of all such arrests in India in 2022.

Police records also highlight several high-profile arrests. Amandeep Kaur, a police constable known for her social media presence, was arrested with 17.71 grams of heroin in Bathinda and was later dismissed from service. In another shocking case, 27-year-old Mandeep Kaur from Ibban Kalan village was arrested as a key player in a cross-border smuggling ring, with authorities seizing 5.2 kilograms of heroin during the raid.