Assam tops NDPS arrests in East, Northeast; Manipur leads heroin seizures

The data was based on a cross-border drug trafficking and seizure report covering 12 states in northeast and eastern India, compiled using NCB data.

Updated on: May 23, 2026, 10:39:38 IST

By Shishir Gupta

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Assam has emerged as the state with the highest number of cases registered under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act in northeast and eastern India, reflecting a sharp rise in drug seizures, arrests and recoveries, while Manipur has emerged as the biggest hotspot for heroin seizures.

Manipur recorded the highest heroin seizures among the 12 states, with recoveries totalling 1,750.34 kg over the last five years. (Representative image/AFP )

The data was based on a cross-border drug trafficking and seizure report of 12 states in the eastern part of country compiled using data from the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB).

According to the report, Assam registered 12,500 NDPS cases and 20,398 arrests during the five-year period. Odisha came second with 12,405 cases and 17,016 arrests.

While Assam topped the list in overall cases, Manipur recorded the highest heroin seizures among the 12 states, with recoveries totalling 1,750.34 kg over the last five years.

The report comes even as the Centre has declared a war on drugs, aiming to eradicate the menace from the country by 2047. Union home minister Amit Shah, at a recent event, highlighted the government's resolve, which includes cracking down on drug trafficking through land and maritime borders, strengthening the NCB, and ensuring coordinated action among agencies.

Also Read: Amit Shah declares war on drugs after eradicating Maoists

Manipur a 'high-value trafficking risk'

The latest report described Manipur as a “high-value trafficking risk profile” in the eastern and northeastern corridor. Much of the drug flow into Manipur, which shares an international border with Myanmar, originates from the “Golden Triangle” — the heroin and synthetic drug-producing region spanning Myanmar, Laos and Thailand.

The list also showed West Bengal reporting 605.8 kg of heroin seizures, Assam 573.96 kg and Bihar 485.24 kg.

The report also flagged Mizoram as a major synthetic drug concern, recording 2,218.27 kg of ATS (amphetamine-type stimulants) seizures, the highest among the 12 states.

Odisha dominates ganja seizures

Odisha emerged as the state with the highest ganja seizures, recording a significant rise over the years.

Enforcement agencies recovered 850,792 kg of ganja between 2020 and 2024. The second-highest seizures were recorded in Tripura at 221,731 kg, followed by Assam at 179,462 kg.

Also Read: STF seizes 8.9kg heroin worth ₹40 crore, arrests suspect in Bhiwani

According to the report, Odisha consistently recorded a rise in cannabis recoveries every year, including more than 212,000 kg in 2023 alone.

Pharmaceutical drug diversion under scanner

The report also pointed to rising pharmaceutical drug seizures in West Bengal, Tripura, Assam and Bihar.

While Bengal recorded the highest number of codeine-based cough syrup (CBCS) bottles seizure at 2.75 million, Assam topped tablet recoveries with more than 17.2 million tablets seized during the five-year period.

Tripura also saw large-scale recoveries of pharmaceutical tablets and CBCS bottles, suggesting diversion and trafficking networks operating through the region.

Bihar, Jharkhand show opium concerns

The report noted that Bihar and Jharkhand with “notable opium and poppy indicators”, pointing to overland trafficking routes and transit vulnerabilities. Jharkhand reported over 4,206 kg of opium seizures and more than 326,000 kg of poppy husk or straw seizures during the period.

Also Read: Seized first time in India, why Captagon is called ‘Jihadi drug’ | Explained

Bihar, meanwhile, recorded 1,920 kg of opium seizures and more than 35,000 kg of poppy husk recoveries.

Agencies asked to intensify coordination

The report stated the need for stronger intelligence-sharing among the NCB, state police forces, Customs, DRI, BSF, Assam Rifles and railway and highway interdiction units. It recommended closer monitoring of precursor chemical diversion, pharmaceutical trafficking and financial investigations linked to narcotics networks.

The findings were based on state-wise seizure data compiled by the NCB and other drug law enforcement agencies from 2020 to 2024.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Shishir Gupta
Shishir Gupta is Executive Editor at Hindustan Times and one of India's top journalists covering national security, strategic affairs, foreign policy and geopolitics. Over the past three decades, he has extensively reported on India's military, diplomatic and security landscape, covering every major conflict and national security challenge, from the 1999 Kargil War and the 2020 East Ladakh standoff to Operation Sindoor in 2025. He has also covered major terror attacks, including the IC-814 hijacking, the 26/11 Mumbai attacks and the 2025 Pahalgam terror strike, along with numerous Pakistan-backed terrorist incidents in the Kashmir Valley and across India. He has reported on national and state elections for more than three decades. A recognised authority on strategic affairs, Gupta has covered India's nuclear programme since the Pokhran-II (Shakti series) tests in May 1998 and has written extensively on global nuclear issues, Indian diplomacy and the country's expanding global outreach. He has also reported widely on international conflicts and terrorism, with a special focus on the Indian subcontinent. Gupta has interviewed Prime Minister Narendra Modi more than four times, including Modi's first interview with the print media after becoming Prime Minister in May 2014. His other interviews include three with the Dalai Lama, as well as conversations with Benjamin Netanyahu, Amit Shah, Yogi Adityanath, S. Jaishankar, Nirmala Sitharaman and Piyush Goyal. He is the author of Indian Mujahideen: The Enemy Within (Hachette, 2011) and Himalayan Face-off: Chinese Assertion and Indian Riposte (Hachette, 2014). He was awarded the Chevening-Wolfson Joint Scholarship at Wolfson College, University of Cambridge, UK, in 1998 and participated in the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) of the US State Department in 2006. He received the Ben Gurion Prize from Israel in 2011 and the K. Subrahmanyam Prize for Strategic Studies in 2015 from the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (MP-IDSA). Since 2024, he has hosted Point Blank, Hindustan Times' weekly YouTube show on global geopolitics.Read More

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