New Delhi | September 20, 2025
A total of 660 foreign nationals were arrested in India on drug-trafficking charges in 2024, according to the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) annual report released during the second National Conference of Heads of Anti-Narcotics Task Forces.
The report showed that Nepalese citizens accounted for the highest number of arrests at 203, followed by Nigerians with 106, and Myanmarese nationals with 25.
Others arrested included 18 Bangladeshis, 14 Ivorians, 13 Ghanaians, and 10 Icelanders.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah unveiled the report at the two-day conference, which brought together state and union territory anti-narcotics task forces to strengthen cooperation against drug trafficking.
The NCB highlighted India’s geographical vulnerability, being situated between the “Death Crescent” comprising Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iran and the “Death Triangle” of Myanmar, Thailand, and Laos, both of which are major narcotics-producing regions.
In addition to arrests, the report detailed increasing use of drones for smuggling drugs into India.
Punjab recorded 163 such cases in 2024, with seizures including 187.15 kilograms of heroin, 5.39 kilograms of methamphetamine, and 4.22 kilograms of opium. Rajasthan and Jammu & Kashmir also reported drone-related seizures.
Authorities stressed the need for stronger international collaboration, better border surveillance, and enhanced intelligence sharing to curb drug trafficking across the region.
