The Indian economy may not be rising at breakneck speed but that does not seem to be the case in the drug trade. According to the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), just the quantity of cocaine seized in 2015 has gone up by a whopping 670 per cent.

Last year, 1,687 kg of opium, 1,416 kg of heroin, 94,403 kg of ganja, 3,349 kg of hashish, 122 kg of Cocaine, and 827 kg of ephedrine/pseudo-ephedrine, were seized by NCB and various agencies, including State Police. In addition to this, illicit opium poppy cultivation spread over 3,461 acres and 818 acres of cannabis crop was destroyed all over the country.

ONLINE SMUGGLING

The NCB, for the first time, used sophisticated cyber tools to seize two syndicates involved in drug trafficking using "Dark Net Marketplace" and "Bitcoins". Officials confirmed to India Today that online smuggling is becoming a "serious challenge" for them due to lack of knowledge and shortage of manpower.

But the serious issue in the entire data published in NCB Report 2015 is the rising smuggling of cocaine in the country. Number of cocaine cases has increased to 100 in 2015 from 82 in 2014. As a result, the quantity of cocaine seized has gone up to 122 kg in 2015 from mere 14.68 kg in 2014, almost up by 669.7 per cent.

MAHARASHTRA TOPS

Shockingly, Maharashtra, leads the list with a seizure of 71 kg cocaine valued at Rs 426 crore (cocaine is sold at nearly Rs 6 crore per kg in international market). New Delhi is at number two with 20 kg.

A senior NCB official told India Today, "One needs to understand that these are only seizures done in Maharashtra. It does not mean Mumbai /Maharashtra are leading in consumption. Maharashtra is being used as a landing hub by smugglers. From here, cocaine consignments are distributed across the country via air, road, train and courier routes".



AFRICAN CONNECTION



Trafficking trends of cocaine have followed more or less a similar pattern, characterized by smuggling being done mostly by African nationals based in India. Instances of cocaine being smuggled from Afghanistan, Argentina, Brazil and South America have also come to notice.

"Most of the cocaine seized has been found concealed in parcels with common household articles like cosmetics, utensils, books and clothing", an official said. Interestingly, smuggling of cocaine in liquid form is the newest trend to hit the trade.

"Cocaine abuse is India is more prevalent among the rich and the influential. A single gram of cocaine is sold at Rs 3,000-4,000, the costliest among all narcotic substances," an NCB official said.

However, in the last one and half years, another drug called MD -- also called Meow Meow -- has affected cocaine sales. It is said to give a better high at a lesser price: Rs 1,200 to 1,800 per gram.

In 2016, only one consignment of 600 grams of cocaine was seized by NCB in Mumbai. The number of cases in smuggling Hashish (made in Kashmir and HP) and heroine in the western region have also increased.

KETAMINE CONUNDRUM

In 2015, a large number of tablets containing pseudo-ephedrine (precursor chemicals) were seized along the Indo-Myanmar border, which were possibility being smuggled into Myanmar for extraction of ephedrine/pseudo - ephedrine salt for production of amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS).

For instances, Ketamine is a medicine used mainly for anaesthesia and as a pain killer. But now, Ketamine has gained notoriety as a club-drug and its abuse is rampant in South-East Asia and Europe.

In a sharp rise, a total 211 kg of Ketamine has been seized across India compared to 20 kg in 2014. New Delhi leads with 140 kg seizures and Maharashtra is second with 43 kgs.

Another new psychoactive substance called Mephedrone has made an appearance.

OPIUM AND CANNABIS

In cases of other narcotic drugs, opium seizures in 2015 were at 1,687 kgs, less than 1766.37 kg in 2014. Punjab leads with maximum seizures of 420 kgs. NCB and other agencies also seized 1,416 kg and 1,370 kg of heroin in 2015 and 2014, respectively. Punjab again leads in terms of quantity of heroin seized, followed by Maharashtra.

According to the UNODC - cannabis is the most widely abused illcit substance in the world. As per NCB report, the seizures of ganja in the country are on an average of around 100 tonnes every year. However, during 2015, seizure of ganja witnessed a downfall in comparison to the previous year - almost by 12.83 per cent -- from 108,300 kg to 94,403 kg. Orissa leads with 19,219 kg.

HASHISH FACTOR

In cases of hashish (charas), cases and seizures increased in 2015. A total of 3,349 kg hashish was seized in comparison to 2280 kg in 2014.

In 2015, the seizures increased by nearly 46.8 per cent from the previous year. Uttar Pradesh leads this dubious race with 899 kg.

Other than domestic production, Nepal with whom India shares a long porous border, is also a major source of hashish. In 2015, 21.95 per cent of the total hashish seizures in India were from Nepal.

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