Punjab and Uttar Pradesh (UP) are second only to Delhi in terms of drug trafficking cases in 2024, which recorded 208 cases in 2024 as against 193 cases each reported from Punjab and UP, according to the figures released by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) for last year.
Haryana, on the other hand, logged 113 cases, followed by Rajasthan (103) and Madhya Pradesh (102). However, in terms of the seizure of drugs like heroin, Punjab topped all states by seizing a whopping 1,150 kg of heroin in 2024. In contrast, the seizure in Haryana was 63 kg and in J&K 114 kg.
Also read: Drone drug smuggling from Pak on sharp rise: NCB report
In terms of seizure of ganja, Haryana led among northern states with a whopping 9,955 kg of ganja seized, followed by J&K (1,168 kg) and Punjab (863 kg). At the all-India level, Andhra Pradesh recorded seizure of 53,983 kg of ganja, while Maharashtra was second.
In terms of cocaine seizures, Delhi topped with a record 1,396 kg of the drug seized in 2024, while Maharashtra stood a distant second with a seizure of only 37 kg.
NCB officials said the use of drones for cross-border smuggling of narcotics had emerged as a significant threat to the country's internal security, mainly along the India-Pakistan border in Punjab. They said there had been a sharp rise in drone sightings and seizures of narcotics in border districts like Amritsar, Tarn Taran, Ferozepur and Gurdaspur. In 2024, the number of such seizures rose to 179 as compared to just three in 2021. The consignments mainly consisted of heroin and opium. Rajasthan has also recorded 15 cases of heroin consignments being sent through drones from across the Pakistan border.
The overall conviction rate in narcotics cases in 2024 for the NCB stood at 60.7 per cent with 110 convictions and 64 acquittals. Amritsar had three convictions and zero acquittals with a 100 per cent conviction rate, while Chandigarh had six convictions and four acquittals, thus recording a conviction rate of 60 per cent. In terms of complaints related to narcotics cases lodged in court, Delhi led with 30 complaints, followed by Chandigarh (18), Jammu (14) and Amritsar (nine).
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