NCB focusing on transnational drug trafficking kingpins, says Director General Anurag Garg

The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) is intensifying its crackdown on transnational drug trafficking by targeting the kingpins behind cross-border narcotics networks instead of only arresting couriers, NCB Director General Anurag Garg said on Monday, July 6.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a two-day meeting of the heads of anti-drug agencies from BRICS member countries in Guwahati, Garg said the agency has identified several major players involved in the illicit trade and efforts are underway to apprehend them.

"We are aware of the problem and are addressing it in a multi-phased manner," he said, referring to narcotics trafficked into India through the Northeast. He noted that Myanmar remains a source of methamphetamine and heroin entering the country, a trend reflected in the NCB's annual report.

Garg said the bureau's strategy has shifted towards dismantling trafficking networks by targeting their masterminds rather than focusing solely on petty couriers transporting drugs across the border.

"Rather than catching the petty couriers who carry it across the border, we are now concentrating on the kingpins. We have identified certain people on both sides, and the process to bring them in to face justice is on," he said.

Highlighting recent action, the NCB chief referred to the arrest of a key Myanmar-based drug trafficker in New Delhi in May as part of its efforts to dismantle transnational narcotics syndicates.

Garg also said the NCB is strengthening state-level anti-narcotics task forces, describing state agencies as the frontline in the fight against drug trafficking. He added that the bureau has expanded its presence in the Northeast by establishing zonal and regional offices in recent years, a move that has enhanced enforcement capabilities and contributed to a rise in drug seizures over the past year.