Udta Hindustan

India, which was earlier a transit point for drug shipments to the US and Europe, is increasingly becoming a significant consumer and producer of illicit drugs.

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Drug syndicates now eye India's robust chemical and pharmaceutical sector for manufacturing synthetic drugs, and as a source of precursor chemicals. Busting of an illicit methamphetamine manufacturing facility in Greater Noida, belonging to the dreaded Jalisco Cartel of Mexico, points to the involvement of international drug cartels in the drug trade in India

Few in authority want to acknowledge the problem of drug abuse in India. Udta Punjab, a 2016 Bollywood film portraying drug abuse in Punjab, was initially not cleared for exhibition by the Censor Board, reportedly on instructions of the Central Government. However, once exhibited, the film succeeded in making drug peddling the central issue in the 2017 Punjab Assembly Elections. It is quite another matter, that instead of decreasing, use of illegal drugs has increased over the years in Punjab, and has rapidly spread to other States also, especially Kerala.

Controlling illicit drug supply has become even more difficult, with synthetic drugs like fentanyl (a synthetic opioid) and methamphetamine (a synthetic stimulant), and now nitazenes, replacing traditional plant-based drugs like cocaine and heroin. This is because synthetic drugs can be made anywhere, at any time, requiring only chemicals, lab equipment, and basic know-how.

It does not help that India lies between the Golden Triangle (Myanmar, Laos, and Thailand) and the Golden Crescent (Afghanistan, Iran, and Pakistan), two of the world's largest heroin-producing regions. Technology is being misused on a large scale for trading in drugs, orders are taken on social media and last year, the BSF intercepted 294 drones in Punjab that were carrying drugs from Pakistan. Drug traffickers are known to deploy narco-submarines to cross oceans, with their abominable cargo.