Drugs worth Rs 2,919 crore seized in Assam over five years: Himanta Biswa Sarma

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on January 1 said that drugs worth Rs 2,919 crore have been seized in the state over the past five years, underscoring what he described as significant progress in the government’s anti-drugs campaign.

In a post on social media platform X, Sarma said that since the BJP-led government assumed office in 2016, security forces have seized drugs worth Rs 2,170 crore. He added that from 2011 to 2016, the value of drugs seized stood at Rs 400 crore, taking the total seizures over the last 15 years to Rs 2,919 crore.

Stating that the “war against banned drugs and psychotropic substances” has been one of the most visible and impactful initiatives of the Assam Police during his tenure, Sarma said more than 23,000 arrests have been made in drug-related cases over the last five years. He pointed out that seizures made between 2021 and 2025 alone amounted to over Rs 2,919 crore, which is more than seven times the value of drugs seized between 2011 and 2016, when seizures were worth Rs 400 crore, and nearly four times the Rs 780 crore seized between 2016 and 2021.

Providing year-wise details, the Chief Minister said drugs worth Rs 419.47 crore were seized in 2025, Rs 658.76 crore in 2024, Rs 722.55 crore in 2023, Rs 383.64 crore in 2022 and Rs 383.64 crore in 2021. He also shared data on the nature of seizures in 2025, which included 87 kg of heroin, 1,381.2 kg of ganja, 27.27 lakh psychotropic substance tablets, 1.26 lakh cough syrup bottles, 209 kg of opium and 48 kg of morphine.

Sarma further said that the crackdown has extended to the economic backbone of narcotics networks. In 2022 alone, properties belonging to 633 individuals involved in opium cultivation were attached. The total market value of seized narcotics and attached properties stood at Rs 179.79 crore in 2020, rose to Rs 735.54 crore in 2022, and has remained above Rs 650 crore in 2024.

According to the Chief Minister, 20,265 NDPS cases were registered during the period, and security forces arrested 4,453 people. He noted that while the crime rate per lakh population has declined from 379 in 2021 to 123.9 in 2025, drug-related crimes have shown a sharp reduction.

On land protection measures, Sarma said a total of 1,45,045 bighas of land have been recovered through eviction drives against encroachment, out of which 11 lakh bighas are in wildlife sanctuaries and national parks, 26,713 bighas are under the Assam Sarkari/Khas land category, 4,449 bighas fall under other categories and 3,643 bighas are under VGR/PGR land.

The Chief Minister said the figures reflect the state government’s sustained efforts to dismantle narcotics networks, reduce drug abuse and restore law and order across Assam.