Knowledge Nugget | From Telegram Drug Networks to Nitazenes: What the NCB Annual Report 2025 reveals

Key Highlights of NCB Annual Report-2025

1. Highest narcotics-related arrests in 5 years: India also saw a significant rise in narcotics-related enforcement in 2025, with the number of people arrested in anti-drug operations increasing sharply, according to the report. 

— The report said 1,83,675 people were arrested in 2025, up from 1,22,224 in 2024. This was the highest figure recorded during the five years from 2021 to 2025. It also said that 810 detention orders were issued in 2025, a steep rise from 531 in 2024.

2. Encrypted Apps major channels for drug trafficking: Encrypted messaging platforms such as Telegram, WhatsApp and Signal have become major channels for drug trafficking worldwide, including in India. Of these three, Telegram has emerged as a key platform for drug-related advertising, according to the Narcotics Control Bureau’s Annual Report 2025 released Friday.

3. Myanmar leading source of illicit opium: The report by the apex drug law enforcement agency also flagged a trafficking corridor from Myanmar into India’s Northeast as a major security concern, warning that the drug trade in the region is linked to arms smuggling and financing of terror groups.

— “Myanmar has now overtaken Afghanistan as the leading source of illicit opium,” the report said, “with the change driven by the after-effects of the Taliban’s ban on poppy cultivation and the continued expansion of cultivation in Myanmar amid conflict and economic breakdown.”

4. Actions against Illicit cultivation: Enforcement agencies also reported the major action against illicit cultivation. “The area under poppy cultivation destroyed rose dramatically to 42,282 acres in 2025, nearly double the 22,512 acres eradicated in 2024. (Area under) cannabis cultivation destroyed also increased, reaching 38,193 acres, up from 34,018 acres a year earlier,” the report said.

— According to the report, amphetamine-type stimulants accounted for nearly half of all synthetic drug seizures globally in 2023, with methamphetamine and amphetamine remaining the dominant substances.

— The report also said methamphetamine production remained concentrated in hubs including Mexico, Myanmar, Afghanistan, Czechia, and the Netherlands, while trafficking patterns were expanding across Europe, Africa, and the Near and Middle East.

5. Challenge of Porous border: “The porous border (between India and Myanmar) and Free Movement Regime facilitate trafficking, exacerbate local addiction, and fund insurgent groups,” the report said.

6. Changing global narcotics landscape: The report also pointed out that India is facing mounting pressure from a rapidly changing global narcotics landscape, marked by the rise of ultra-potent synthetic opioids and a record cocaine output.

7. Two emerging threats: The report flagged two emerging threats that require urgent attention: the spread of nitazenes, a class of synthetic opioids said to be 500 times more potent than heroin, and the increasing link between drug trafficking and organised violence across transit economies.

What are the key highlights of World Drug Report 2025?

1. The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) launched the World Drug Report, which provides a scientific and impartial overview of drug trends and patterns around the world.

2. According to the report titled “Global instability compounding social, economic and security costs of the world drug problem”, 316 million people used a drug (excluding alcohol and tobacco) in 2023, or six per cent of the population aged between 15 and 64, compared to 5.2 per cent of the population in 2013.

3. Cannabis was the most widely used drug with 244 million users, followed by opioids (61 million), amphetamines (30.7 million), cocaine (25 million), and “ecstasy” (21 million). The report warns that the new groups of vulnerable people fleeing hardship, instability and conflict could cause these numbers to increase further.

4. The report also pointed to the cost of failing to tackle drug use disorders – nearly half a million deaths and 28 million healthy years of life lost due to disability and premature deaths (DALY) in 2021. Just one in 12 people with drug use disorders were estimated to have received any form of drug treatment in 2023.

5. Region-specific, the report highlighted that the gender gap in cannabis use in Asia is the largest globally; 90 in every 100 people who used cannabis in the past year were men. Also, Asia accounts for the largest number of people who inject drugs worldwide (5.2 million in 2022) and, within that group, of those living with HIV (615,000) and hepatitis C (2.8 million).

What are Death (Golden) Crescent and Death (Golden) Triangle?

1. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), two significant regions of drug production and drug trafficking are the “Golden Crescent” and “Golden Triangle”.

2. Golden Crescent includes illicit opium production areas in Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan; and the “Golden Triangle” covers Myanmar, Thailand, and Laos.

3. “India has been seen as sandwiched between the Death (Golden) Crescent and Death (Golden) Triangle. The country is being flooded with drugs, especially heroin and methamphetamine, from these two regions. Nearly 90 per cent of the world’s demand for these drugs is being met from these two regions. India is both a big market and a transit route for other countries,” wrote Rakesh Asthana.

4. In 2023, Union Home Minister while speaking at conference on ‘Drugs Smuggling and National Security’ said that “Earlier the main area of drug smuggling was called ‘Golden Triangle’ and ‘Golden Crescent’, but the government of India has proposed internationally that it should be named as ‘Death Triangle’ and ‘Death Crescent’. This approach shows the direction and intensity of our fight against drugs.

BEYOND THE NUGGET: Major drug-busting operations

1. Operation Crystal Fortress: The operation drew its name from “Crystal”, referring to methamphetamine, and “fortress”, denoting the secured area where it was hidden, similar to a fort. Methamphetamine is also known as the “Ice” drug because of its white, crystal-like appearance and its high demand at rave parties. 

2. Operation WeedOut: The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) launched a pan India operation under the codename “Weedout” to dismantle a syndicate involved in smuggling of hydroponic weed into India. DRI is the premier intelligence and enforcement agency, working under the Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs, Ministry of Finance. It is tasked with detecting and curbing smuggling of contraband, including drug trafficking and illicit international trade.

3. Operation Samudragupt: Launched in January 2022, Op Samudragupt is a joint initiative by the Indian Navy and the NCB to combat drug trafficking in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). 

4. Operation NARCOS: In June 2022, the Railway Protection Force (RPF) launched a special drive aimed at curbing the smuggling of drugs on trains. RPF intensified its checks in trains and identified black spots across the country in coordination with NCB to target drug peddlers involved in this illegal trade.

Post Read Question

Consider the following countries:

1. Afghanistan

2. Iran

3. Pakistan

Which of the following countries forms part of the Death (Golden) triangle?

(a) 1, 2, and 3

(b) 2 and 3 only

(c) 1 and 2 only

(d) None

Answer 

(d)

(Sources: 747 foreign nationals held in India in drug cases, most from Nepal: Report, Telegram key platform for drug ads, Myanmar route a concern: NCB, , unodc.org)

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