Ease of Info, High Profit Margin Drawing Youth Into Drug Manufacturing: ATS ADG

Time of India

6 hours ago

Nagpur: India is witnessing a dangerous shift in its drug landscape, with synthetic drug manufacturing gaining alarming momentum due to high profit margins and easy access to information, warned additional director general (ADG) of the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) Nawal Bajaj.
Speaking at a seminar on narcotics enforcement, Bajaj said, "Today, AI and the internet provide step-by-step guidance on drug synthesis. You no longer need to rely on international syndicates; everything is available domestically."
Citing a case from Navi Mumbai, where a postgraduate in chemistry was caught producing methamphetamine at just Rs10,000 per kg, intending to sell it for over Rs2 crore, the prevailing market rate.
The ATS officer noted that precursor chemicals meant for regular pharmaceutical use are now being diverted to manufacture synthetic narcotics. "When one drug is banned, two new ones crop up. Synthetic variants are replacing natural drugs," he said, pointing to a drug manufacturing unit in Parbhani and a lab set up by a Mexican cartel in New Delhi.
Bajaj underlined that while narco-terrorism is more visible in regions like Punjab, the greater concern nationwide is the increasing organisation of drug networks.
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"Our judicial systems are slow, and unlike the US, where access is widespread despite enforcement, we face bigger challenges due to our population and policing gaps," he added. Citing home minister Amit Shah, Bajaj reiterated the importance of reducing drug demand instead of merely focusing on supply-side crackdowns.
Swacchand Chavan, SP (NIA), said India is slowly turning into a production hub for synthetic drugs, with fewer narcotics now being smuggled from outside.
"Labs are popping up inside the country. The trend is shifting. For instance, we recently busted a Mexican cartel that had set up shop in Delhi," he said.
Chavan warned that India's unstable neighbours, like Myanmar, are feeding the regional drug trade. "There's a constant cycle of bribery and nexus between border gangs and local governments. Casinos near the border towns are laundering drug money. Drones from Pakistan are also being used to drop narcotics," he noted.
He highlighted body concealment — especially in women — as an increasing smuggling tactic, including the use of pregnant women's bodies to carry drugs internally.
Rajesh Dhabre, Narcotics Commissioner from the Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN), said drug money is increasingly being linked to terror funding. "We have to see this beyond a social issue. There's a parallel economy operating through narcotics. A better data exchange system among all law enforcement agencies is essential," he said.
IRS officer Gaurav Mehshram highlighted that in Nagpur, most of those caught in drug peddling cases are under 28. "They are not hardened criminals. Many are experimenting out of curiosity or stress. Our systems need to recognise them as victims," he said. He emphasized the need for government-sponsored rehabilitation — both inside and outside jail — as a majority of NDPS-accused spend time incarcerated without support for de-addiction.
Ashok Chakravarthy, from the Customs & Indirect Taxes Department, added that while Mumbai is the largest port in the country, only profiling helps narrow down suspicious consignments due to limited resources.
Experts added that India must adopt a multi-pronged approach involving awareness, tech-enabled surveillance, inter-agency cooperation, and rehabilitation to address what they described as a growing public health and security threat.