India has recorded a significant increase in seizures of drugs in the last five years with the darknet and maritime routes emerging as the preferred modes of trafficking, according to a UN narcotics watchdog.
The International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) on Thursday said in the past five years heroin seizures increased in the country from 2,146 kg in 2017 to 7,282 kg in 2021.
“In India, there has been a significant increase in seizures of drugs over the past five years, with the darknet and maritime routes emerging as the preferred modes of trafficking," the INCB said its 2022 Annual Report.
“There has also been an increase of more than 70 per cent in seizures of opium, from 2,551 kg in 2017 to 4,386 kg in 2021, and a more than 90 per cent increase in seizures of cannabis, from 352,539 kg in 2017 to 675,631 kg in 2021, according to the information reported by the Narcotics Control Board of India," the report said.
As per the report, South Asia is among the regions of particular concern with regard to ensuring and monitoring the availability of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances for medical and scientific purposes.
On the basis of reported consumption of narcotic drugs for medical purposes, the region is among those with limited availability of the most widely used opioid analgesics, the report said.
As global demand for synthetic drugs such as pharmaceutical opioids and illicitly produced methamphetamine, MDMA and ketamine continues to grow, INCB report states that illicit manufacturing and trafficking organizations are expected to increase their global activities.
“India, which is home to a large chemical and pharmaceutical industry, has witnessed the rise of commercial chemical factories that have been adapted to illicitly manufacture large quantities of synthetic drugs and their precursors,” the report adds.
This development has been driven by the availability of highly qualified but underemployed chemists, who are susceptible to recruitment by criminal organizations.
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