Drug Trafficking: 106 Nigerians Nabbed in India’s Massive Crackdown

By: Abudu Olalekan

India’s war on drugs just got real. And the numbers? Brutal.

Last year, 660 foreign nationals were arrested for drug trafficking. Out of these, a staggering 106 were Nigerians. That’s right—Nigerians made up the second-highest group after Nepalese (203 arrests). The data, straight from the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), also showed Myanmarese (25), Bangladeshis (18), Ivorians (14), Ghanaians (13), and even 10 Icelanders caught in the dragnet.

The Bigger Picture
This wasn’t just some random bust. Union Home Minister Amit Shah dropped the bombshell report during the 2nd National Conference of Anti-Narcotics Task Forces. The two-day event, organized by the NCB, was all about strategy—how to crush drug cartels before they spread their poison further.

But here’s the kicker: India’s geography makes it a prime target. Sandwiched between the Death Crescent (Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran) and the Death Triangle (Myanmar, Thailand, Laos), the country is basically a transit hub for global drug trafficking.

Drones, Heroin, and High-Stakes Seizures
Punjab bore the brunt—163 cases of drug smuggling via drones. Authorities seized 187.149 kg of heroin, 5.39 kg of meth, and 4.22 kg of opium. Rajasthan wasn’t spared either—15 drone cases, 39.155 kg of heroin recovered. Even Jammu & Kashmir had one case, with 0.344 kg of heroin seized.

Anurag Garg, NCB’s Director General, didn’t mince words: “Coastal routes—Mumbai, Gujarat, Kerala, Tamil Nadu—are now hotbeds for synthetic drugs. The north-east? Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland? They’re getting hammered by Myanmar’s supply.”

Shah’s Warning: “We’re Coming for the Cartels”
Amit Shah made it clear—this isn’t just about street dealers anymore. The real targets? The big fish.

“We’re going after three types of cartels: those at entry points, distributors moving drugs across states, and local sellers,” he declared. His game plan? Darknet analysis, crypto tracking, financial flow scrutiny. Basically, tech is the new weapon in this war.

And here’s the clincher: “The CBI’s doing great work. But we need to extradite kingpins hiding abroad. Break the narcotics rings, and you break terrorism funding too.”

Why This Matters
Drug abuse isn’t just a crime—it’s a development killer. Shah pointed out the ugly truth: “Two of the world’s biggest drug hubs are right next to us. We can’t afford to lose this fight.”

So, what’s next? More crackdowns. More seizures. And a ruthless push to dismantle the entire supply chain.