Shift to Synthetic Drugs: Government Reveals New Smuggling Trends in Northeast
NEW DELHI: Drug syndicates active in India’s northeast are increasingly turning to synthetic drugs and using social media and encrypted messaging apps to coordinate cross-border smuggling, the government informed the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.
In a written reply, Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai said there has been a “marked increase in the trafficking of methamphetamine from Myanmar, particularly through Manipur, Mizoram and Nagaland”, reflecting a shift towards synthetic drugs even as heroin trafficking continues.
“The pattern of narcotics trafficking through the northeast has undergone significant changes” in the type of drugs, routes and modus operandi, Rai stated.
According to the reply, traffickers are exploiting porous stretches of the Indo-Myanmar border, forest routes and hilly terrain. “Narcotics are concealed in legitimate cargo, passenger vehicles and goods carried by trains, while courier services, parcel networks, social media platforms and encrypted communication apps are increasingly being used,” he said.
The minister also noted that the Moreh-Tamu border crossing remains a key transit point for heroin and methamphetamine originating from Myanmar.
