Bihar, Nagaland, UP top in seizure of ganja: DRI report

In total, the DRI seized around 45 MT of ganja in the country. The other states from where significant amounts of ganja were seized are Chhattisgarh, Telangana, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh.

According to the DRI report, the pandemic presented a new challenge as ingenious concealment methods for smuggling of gold and narcotics emerged. Courier and postal cargo emerged as the most preferred mode of transportation of drugs by traffickers in 2020-21, it said.

Overall, the trend in seizures is seen as reflective of production and consumption trends even as the DRI described it as a “national security concern”. “DRI continued seizures of ganja in FY 2020-21 also, which is in consonance with production and consumption of ganja in India,” the DRI report said.

Ganja is controlled under the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. “It is also a national security concern as the areas involved in the trafficking activities of ganja are affected by left wing extremism. The illicit proceeds from the trafficking of ganja are reportedly used for financing the anti-national activities by such extremist groups,” the report stated.

In 2018-19, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Assam accounted for the majority of the seizures. The states topping the list in 2019-20 were UP, Maharashtra, Telangana and Tamil Nadu.

In the financial year 2019-20, the DRI had detected 412 cases of smuggling resulting in seizure of contraband worth Rs 1,949 crore.

“There is a distinct trend emerging from these seizures, which indicates a flow of huge quantities of ganja coming from Odisha and Andhra Pradesh, passing through Telangana, Chhattisgarh and MP before reaching the consumption centres in northern states India, mainly UP and Bihar. Some quantities of ganja of the same origin reach Maharashtra, too, for consumption. Maharashtra, Telangana and Tamil Nadu appear more prone to manufacture and trafficking of synthetic drugs,” the DRI had said in its report for 2019-20.

In 2016, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had declared Bihar a dry state, enforcing a five-year jail term even for first-time offenders, before changing the rule two years later to introduce a fine for first-time offenders.

Over the past five years, the state has witnessed an increase in reported cases involving consumption of drugs and the sale of illicit liquor, corroborated by a surge in the number of those addicted to ganja and other drugs enrolling at state-run de-addiction centres.