Indian Council of World Affairs

Abstract: This paper aims to understand how narcotrafficking across the Indo-Myanmar border after the Myanmar military coup of 2021 has affected India's national security as well as the internal security of Northeast India. 

Introduction

The growing trafficking of drugs across the Indo-Myanmar border threatens the political and socio-economic stability of the region. It also fuels insurgency in Northeast India, affecting its internal security . The porous, unfenced borders and weak surveillance have created a conducive environment for drug trafficking. These vulnerabilities at the borders, in combination with the long-standing political instability in Myanmar after the 2021 military coup, have become a national security threat. The increasing number of Ethnic Armed Organizations (EAOs) in Myanmar along the borders of North East India have increased their involvement in drug trafficking, which is used to finance their operations against the Junta government. Moreover, the North East-based insurgencies use opium money to buy arms and explosives, which further intensifies drug trafficking and directly affects the security and stability of India.

In this context, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence’s 2023-24 report highlights the importance of addressing the issue of narco-trafficking. It shows concerns regarding its evolving nexus of the transnational drug trade as the Indo-Myanmar region has become a hotspot for synthetic drugs like methamphetamine and yaba, which primarily come from Myanmar.^[i]


Post-military Coup and Narco-trafficking

After the Military Coup of 2021, the political situation in Myanmar has worsened because of tensions between the Ethnic Armed Organizations and the Junta. Myanmar has been experiencing highly violent crackdowns, armed resistance, and economic turmoil as a result of the coup. Adding to the political instability, Myanmar is the largest drug-hub in Southeast Asia.^[ii] It is also a critical part of the ‘golden triangle’, which is a region comprising Myanmar, Laos, and Thailand that is associated with drug cultivation and drug trafficking. These factors present more impulse to drug trafficking along the Indo-Myanmar border.^[iii]

The post-military coup has impacted drug trafficking by increasing opium cultivation. Jeremy Douglas, United Nations Office on Drug and Crime (UNODC) Regional Representative, said that the disruptions in economic, security and governance that followed after the military takeover on 1 February 2021 have ultimately driven local farmers in the remote areas to make a living  out of the opium cultivation.^[iv] Additionally, socio-economic factors like the high  cost of cultivating  regular cash crops as compared to that of the poppy have left the farmers with no choice but to cultivate opium.^[v] Also the revenue generated from poppy cultivation has reached US$ 355 per kg, much more than that of other crops. In 2023 an estimated 154 tonnes of heroin was exported from Myanmar, worth up to US$2.2 billion.^[vi] Moreover, the alleged involvement of the EAOs, such as Kachin Independence Army (KIA), Arakan Army (AA) and United Wa State Army (UWSA)  in drug trafficking has also significantly contributed to the  surge, as the money generated by opium cultivation is then used in buying arms and explosives and to recruit people.^[vii]

Data shows that the area of opium cultivation in Myanmar after the military coup of 2021 has surged from 30,200 ha in 2021 to 47,000 ha in 2023, as reported by the UNODC.^[viii] Moreover, studies show that even after the 2021 coup, Shan state continues to be the largest opium producing state in Myanmar contributing to almost 88% of the total production in the region. In Kachin state, cultivation has surged to 4,600 ha in 2023 compared to 4,200 ha in 2021. Most importantly, cultivation in Chin state, which is located near the Indian borders has increased from 560 ha in 2021 to 760 ha in 2023.^[ix]

Implications on India's National Security

These developments in Myanmar have several implications for India’s security. Firstly, the poppy cultivation in Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh is also getting a push. In North East India, poppy is cultivated primarily in the states of Manipur and Arunachal, bordering  the Myanmar states of Kachin, Sagaing Region and Chin state. Ethnic groups of both countries who live in such isolated, mountainous regions call these borderlands home, and they share comparable geographical features. Illicit poppy production is sustained in these areas due to poor socio-economic indicators including poverty and lack of employment.^[x]

In Manipur, opium is mainly cultivated in the hilly regions of Ukhrul, Senapati, Kangpokpi, Kamjong, Churachandpur and Tengnoupal.^[xi] However, it is to be noted that the cultivation of poppy in Manipur has declined to a level about 60% lower than the 2021 level, from 28,000 acres down to 11,200 acres, primarily following strict policy enforcement and alternative livelihood programs.^[xii] As far as the state of Arunachal is concerned, the persistent problem of opium cultivation and its complex socio-cultural roots continue to be a cause of concern and a significant security challenge, particularly in the districts of Anjaw and Lohit.^[xiii]

The drugs are trafficked originating from Myanmar following the two trafficking routes to several destinations in India  as follows:

These routes pass through the porous border and hilly terrains with limited surveillance. Moreover, the presence of ethnic insurgency prevailing over both sides of the border gives the traffickers easy access to carry the illicit goods.^[xiv] A lack of strong border enforcement, gaps in surveillance and large-scale presence of local smuggling network associations continue to facilitate drug flow. This creates a difficult situation where authorities often find themselves one step behind traffickers, making long-term solutions harder to implement.

Another implication of drug-trafficking is threat to India’s national security. Drug trafficking along the Indo-Myanmar border has been a long-standing problem since the 1970s, and has been posing a continuous security challenge since the 2021 military coup in Myanmar.^[xv] On 7 January 2024, the Srikona area of Cachar district, Assam recovered packets containing 64,000 methamphetamine tablets  seized by DRI. Similarly, on March 7, 2024, nearly 149,800 tablets were seized near Tuirial village in Aizawl, Mizoram leading to two persons being arrested. On February 17, 2024, DRI seized 416.13 kg of Ganja from the west Tripura district and in another case on 7 March 2024 Sepahijala District, Tripura, Assam rifles seized 450 kg of Ganja. The drug cases registered by the Directorate Revenue of Intelligence in the northeastern states show the alarming trend of drug trafficking which concerns the national security of India.^[xvi]

The trafficking cases are particularly posing security threats along the India and Myanmar borders, which constitutes a stretch of 1643 km, bordering Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh of India.^[xvii] The drug traffickers take advantage of the hilly terrains and porous borders for cross-border illegal activities, which are the source of funding the local insurgent groups in these bordering states to buy arms,  and explosives, and continuing their separatist demands. The former DGP of Assam Mukul Sahay stated, "A part of the funding to any terror and insurgent organisation, including those in North-East and Assam comes from the illegal trade — mainly of tobacco, drugs and fake currency.".He claimed that the drug smugglers pay protection money to carry out the activities and this money is used for continuing the insurgency. This practice is a serious threat to state sovereignty and the law and order of these bordering states.^[xviii]

The insurgent groups like the Zomi Revolutionary Army, Chin Kuki Liberation Army, United Tribal Liberation Army of Manipur and United Liberation Front of Assam are mostly associated with drug trafficking. They take protection money from the smugglers and provide the latter safe routes through their territory, while groups like the Kangleipak Communist Party of Manipur is directly involved in trafficking to acquire immediate funds. For instance, on 16 October 2023, a Kuki militant leader was arrested for trafficking drugs into Manipur, which shows the connection between narco-trafficking and insurgency.^[xix] Such a nexus between the insurgency and drugs further complicates the law and order situations in these states.

Another implication of drug trafficking is its impinges on health of the youth due to increasing availability of and easy access to drugs like heroin (locally known as number 4), and other synthetic drugs such as methamphetamine (known as ice or Crystal meth) and yaba, which are smuggled from Myanmar. These drugs are widely consumed in Manipur, Nagaland, Mizoram as well as the non-bordering states like Assam, Meghalaya and Tripura.^[xx] The drug-abuse-related health problems in the border states, where cases of HIV and AIDs are common, is a concern for the Government of India. In addition to health related concerns, drug consumption has a distinct impact on the behaviour of the young, who either become isolated and withdraw from society or become drawn to fringe behaviour and their careers get adversely impacted.

State Initiatives to Counter Drug-trafficking

At the state level, the affected states have taken up measures, commonly used strategy is to conduct raids and seizures, to curb and control the rising drug trafficking cases. For example, Manipur’s “War on Drugs” resulted in  a seizure of about ₹ 142 crores worth of drugs during the 2022-2023 period, while more than 764 people were arrested under the Narcotics Drug and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS Act). Similarly, Mizoram has also increased its operational activities against narcotics in coordination with the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and Assam Rifles. From April 2024 to January 2025, the narcotics seized were worth ₹355 crore.^[xxi] Other initiatives include increased border surveillance, destruction of illegal poppy farms in the case of Manipur, and public awareness programs, and cross-border sharing of intelligence between India and Myanmar. In the case of Assam, a three-pronged strategy that includes enforcement, rehabilitation, and awareness. Even de-addiction centres have been opened as rehabilitation centres for this purpose.^[xxii] Moreover, Nagaland’s anti-drug-trafficking campaigns are exemplary. Its District Executive Force’s Kiphire Unit conducts door-to-door awareness campaigns with the distribution of educational materials to households.^[xxiii] Then, schools are also used as a medium to install an anti-drug awareness by establishing PRAHARI Clubs, where students are encouraged to report any drug-related activities to the authorities.^[xxiv]

At the central level, the Ministry of Home Affairs, launched  Drug Disposal Fortnight on 25 January 2025—the organised destruction of recovered drugs—to keep them out of the illegal market.^[xxv] A strong initiative toward citizens' participation was created by kicking off the helpline MANAS, which is a National Narcotics Helpline with the number ‘1933’. At this helpline, citizens will be able to report drug activities through various streams.^[xxvi] A more structured approach has been taken with the four-tier Narco Coordination Centre (NCORD) mechanism—a structure that links Apex, Executive, State, and District—to ensure better centre-state coordination amongst law enforcement authorities. This has led to improved coordination towards intelligence sharing, operational efficiency amongst the region.^[xxvii]

India–Myanmar Cooperation to Combat Drug Trafficking

Moreover, the fight against drug-trafficking cannot be complete without bilateral cooperation. India has been actively working to combat drug trafficking with Myanmar. Bilateral agreements such as the Yangon Ageement signed on 30 March 1994 in Yangon (Myanmar-India Drug Abuse Control) by Myanmar police Colonel Ngwe Soe Tun, Joint Secretary of Central Committee on Drug Abuse Control (CCDAC) and Mr. DV Kumar, Director of Indian Narcotics Control Bureau focused on cooperation in  areas like exchange of information, investigation and identification and destruction of poppy fields and opium refineries, controlling of precursors, (essential chemicals and solvents) lastly prohibition of import of cough syrup of narcotics nature.^[xxviii]

Another bilateral initiative was the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding on 08 May, 2014, which lays out the structure for intelligence sharing and security cooperation and the fight against insurgency, arms drug and human trafficking and to maintain proactive surveillance on their respective sides of the border.^[xxix] Recently, the 7th Myanmar-India Bilateral Meetings on Drug Control held on  25 January 2024 addressed the issue of the growth of drug trade and highlighted the significance of both regional and international collaboration in combating the issue. Moreover, India also keeps on engaging with Myanmar through field-level officer meetings at the international border especially the NCB of India with the CCDAC of Myanmar continuing to discuss on combating drug-related issues and to enhance cooperation.^[xxx]

Conclusion

Despite significant efforts taken by India and Myanmar, cross-border illicit trafficking remains a matter of concern, especially after the Myanmar military coup in 2021 which disrupted the existing bilateral agreements to counter the trafficking. The border situation is further complicated by the political instability in Myanmar which  provides a fertile  environment for the local insurgencies to gain from drug trafficking.

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*Barbie Basumatary, Research Intern, Indian Council of World Affairs, New Delhi
Disclaimer: Views expressed are personal. 

Endnotes

[i] Directorate of Revenue Intelligence. Smuggling in India Report 2023-24, (Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, Government of India, 2024). https://dri.nic.in/main/smug2024.

[ii]Maizland, L. “Myanmar’s Troubled History: Coups, Military Rule, and Ethnic Conflict. (Council on Foreign Relations, January 31, 2022). https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/myanmar-history-coup-military-rule-ethnic-conflict-rohingya.

[iii] Ashok, A. & Centre for Land Warfare Studies. Challenge of narcotics trafficking in northeast India. (CLAWS, ISSUE BRIEF, 2019). https://www.claws.in/static/IB-206_Challenge-of-Narcotics.pdf.

[iv] UNODC. “Golden Triangle Opium Economy Sees Steady Growth in 2023,” (UNODC Regional Office for Southeast Asia and the Pacific: UNODC, December 12, 2023). https://www.unodc.org/roseap/en/2023/12/southeast-asia-opium-survey-report-launch/story.html.

[v] Bhattacharyya, R. “Myanmar Junta’s Drug Trafficking Links,” (The Diplomat, (June 29, 2023). https://thediplomat.com/2023/06/myanmar-juntas-drug-trafficking-links/.

[vi] Loung, H. “How Myanmar Became the Opium Capital of the World,” (East Asia Forum, (May 16, 2024). https://eastasiaforum.org/2024/05/16/how-myanmar-became-the-opium-capital-of-the-world/#:~:text=The%20most%20 substantial%20 increases%k20in,right%20 altitude%20to%20 cultivate%20 opium.

[vii] Challenges to India’s national security: the illicit flow of drugs from Myanmar to India-Pre and post Myanmar Coup of 2021 – CENJOWS. (June 8, 2023). https://cenjows.in/challenges-to-indias-national-security-the-illicit-flow-of-drugs-from-myanmar-to-india-pre-and-post-myanmar-coup-of-2021/#:~:text=India%20has%20become%20one%20of,due%20to%20these%20narcotics%20flows

[viii] United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. (n.d.). Myanmar Opium Survey 2021, Cultivation, production, and implications. Retrieved February 7, 2025, from https://www.unodc.org/documents/crop-monitoring/Myanmar/Myanmar_Opium_survey_2021.pdf

[ix] Southeast Asia Opium Survey 2023. (n.d.). United Nation on Drug and Crime. https://www.unodc.org/roseap/uploads/documents/Publications/2023/Southeast_Asia_Opium_Survey_2023.pdf

[x] Banerjee, S. (2024, October 4). From poppy fields to Black markets: Understanding the drug trade across India and Myanmar. orfonline.org. https://www.orfonline.org/research/from-poppy-fields-to-black-markets-understanding-the-drug-trade-across-india-and-myanmar

[xi] The quest to end illicit poppy cultivation in Manipur: Examining the War on Drugs campaign. (2021, August 6). Economic and Political Weekly. https://www.epw.in/engage/article/quest-end-illicit-poppy-cultivation-manipur

[xii] Achom, D. (2024, April 14). Exclusive: End of Opium poppy cultivation in Manipur soon? Satellite imagery data shows. . .www.ndtv.com. https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/exclusive-end-of-opium-poppy-farming-in-manipur-soon-marsac-data-using-satellite-imagery-indicates-so-5439079

[xiii] Banerjee, S. (2024, October 4). From poppy fields to Black markets: Understanding the drug trade across India and Myanmar. orfonline.org. https://www.orfonline.org/research/from-poppy-fields-to-black-markets-understanding-the-drug-trade-across-india-and-myanmar

[xiv] Drug use in Northeast state of India. (n.d.). United Nation Office on Drug and Crime.https://www.unodc.org/pdf/india/drug_use/executive_summary.pdf

[xv]Drug use in Northeast state of India. (n.d.). United Nation Office on Drug and Crime.https://www.unodc.org/pdf/india/drug_use/executive_summary.pdf

[xvi] Government of India, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence. (n.d.-b). https://dri.nic.in/main/smug2024

[xvii]Ashok,A.(n.d.).Https://www.claws.in/static/IB-206_Challenge-of-Narcotics.pdf. https://www.claws.in/static/IB-206_Challenge-of-Narcotics.pdf.

[xviii] Pti. (2015, July 29). Insurgents, militants funded by drug and fake currency trade. TheHindu.https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/insurgents-militants-funded-by-drug-and-fake-currency-trade/article7475340.ece

[xix] Commander of Manipur Ceasefire-Linked Insurgent Group Asserted With Brown Sugar, NDTV, October 16, 2023. https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/lemtinsei-singson-commander-of-manipur-ceasefire-linked-insurgent-group-arrested-with-brown-sugar-by-assam-rifles-4486741

[xx]Drug use in Northeast state of India. (n.d.). United Nation Office on Drug and Crime.https://www.unodc.org/pdf/india/drug_use/executive_summary.pdf

[xxi] Manipur, F., & Manipur, F. (2025, February 3). Narco-Terrorism emergency in Northeast: COCOMI demands urgent action - The frontier Manipur. The Frontier Manipur - The Mirror of Manipur || Fast, Factual and Fearless.https://thefrontiermanipur.com/narco-terrorism-emergency-in-northeast-cocomi-demands-urgent-action/?utm_source

[xxii] Singh, B. (2022, June 26). Assam govt to set up SOP to regulate rehabilitation and de-addiction centres. EconomicTimes. https://m.economictimes.com/news/india/assam-govt-to-set-up-sop-to-regulate-rehabilitation-and-de-addiction-centres/amp_articleshow/92475840.cms

[xxiii] “Nagaland Police Continues Aggressive Efforts to Combat Drug Spread, DIPR,” (Nagaland-Department of Information & Public Relations, Nagaland, n.d.). https://ipr.nagaland.gov.in/nagaland-police-continues-aggressive-efforts-combat-drug-spread.

[xxiv]Times, M. (2025, January 24). DoSE directs Nagaland schools to form ‘PRAHARI Clubs’ to combat drug abuse » MokokchungTimes.com. mokokchungtimes.com. https://mokokchungtimes.com/dose-directs-nagaland-schools-to-form-prahari-clubs-to-combat-drug-abuse/?amp=1

[xxv] “Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation, Shri Amit Shah, to Chair a Regional Conference on “Drug Trafficking and National Security” in New Delhi on January 11, Saturday,” (PIB, n.d.). mePage.aspx?PRID=2091778#:~:text=During%20the%20Drug%20Disposal%20Fortnight,value%20will%20be%20disposed%20of.

[xxvi] Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. “Tele MANAS: Revolutionising Mental Health Care in India,” (PIB, October 12, 2024). https://pib.gov.in/PressNoteDetails.aspx?NoteId=153277&ModuleId=3®=3&lang=1.

[xxvii] National Narcotics Coordination Portal. (n.d.). https://narcoordindia.gov.in/narcoordindia/index-english.php

[xxviii] Myanmar-Narcotic. Bilateral Agreements. (Central Committee for Drug Abuse Control,  September 17, 2022). https://www.myanmar-narcotic.net/eradication/coop5.ht.

[xxix] Embassy of India. “Press Release,” (Embassy of India, Yangon, Myanmar, May 10, 2014). https://embassyofindiayangon.gov.in/listview/OTE%2C.

[xxx] The Golden News Light Of Myanmar. “Myanmar hosts 7th Myanmar-India Bilateral Meeting on Drug Control Online,” (January 25, 2024).  https://www.gnlm.com.mm/myanmar-hosts-7th-myanmar-india-bilateral-meeting-on-drug-control-online/.