Nigerians arrested for drug trafficking in India reached 106 in 2023, making them the second-largest group of foreign nationals caught after Nepalese

The figure placed Nigerians second on the list of foreign nationals arrested for narcotics offences, behind Nepalese citizens, who accounted for 203 cases.

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Myanmarese nationals were third with 25 arrests. Others included 18 Bangladeshis, 14 Ivorians, 13 Ghanaians, and 10 Icelanders.

The report, unveiled by Union Home Minister Amit Shah during the 2nd National Conference of Heads of Anti-Narcotics Task Forces, highlighted India’s growing challenge with drug trafficking.

NCB Director General Anurag Garg explained that India’s geographical position between the “Death Crescent” (Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran) and the “Death Triangle” (Myanmar, Thailand, Laos) made it a vulnerable hub for narcotics transit.

Punjab, Rajasthan, and Jammu and Kashmir were identified as key smuggling routes for heroin from Pakistan, while India’s northeast is impacted by drugs entering through Myanmar.

Increasingly, coastal states like Mumbai, Gujarat, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu are being used for synthetic drug smuggling.

The NCB report also documented 163 incidents of drones being used to traffic drugs into Punjab, resulting in the seizure of nearly 187 kilograms of heroin alongside methamphetamine and opium.

Rajasthan recorded 15 drone-related trafficking cases, while one was logged in Jammu and Kashmir.

Home Minister Shah said India’s anti-drug war must now focus on dismantling three layers of cartels: those operating at entry points, those distributing to states, and those selling at the retail level.

He stressed the use of advanced tools such as darknet monitoring, cryptocurrency tracking, and machine learning to stay ahead of traffickers.

Shah further urged state anti-narcotics task forces to collaborate with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to extradite overseas cartel leaders.

“This will not only break the narcotics gangs but also terrorism gangs,” he said, affirming Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government’s determination to eradicate narcotics from the country.

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Analysts say the figures underline the international dimension of India’s drug problem, with Nigerians remaining a significant group among foreign nationals implicated in trafficking cases.