Paper: GS Paper III | Subject: Internal Security | Topic: Organised crime and its linkages with terrorism (C08) | Issue: Punjab Drug Crisis
Context
Punjab’s worsening drug crisis, marked by narcotics trafficking, growing addiction and targeted killings, has raised serious concerns about public safety. The increasing involvement of cross-border criminal syndicates and digital networks has transformed the problem into a major internal security and public-health challenge.
Explanation
Magnitude of Punjab’s Drug Crisis
- Drug Dependence: The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) survey, Magnitude of Substance Use in India, estimated opioid dependence among 1.28% of Punjab’s population aged 10–75 during 2017–18, compared with 0.26% nationally.
- Overdose Deaths: National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data recorded 106 drug overdose deaths in Punjab in 2024, compared with 89 in 2023.
- Wider Impact: Addiction contributes to deteriorating health, household indebtedness, unemployment, family distress and declining productivity.
Organised Crime and National Security
- Narco-Terrorism: Drug trafficking revenues may finance terrorist activities, weapons procurement and extremist organisations.
- Gangster Networks: Criminal syndicates use trafficking profits to support extortion, intimidation and targeted killings.
- Money Laundering: Hawala channels, shell businesses and digital transactions help conceal illicit proceeds.
- Institutional Challenges: Corruption, weak witness protection and inadequate inter-agency coordination complicate investigations.
Government Response
Legal and Institutional Measures
- NDPS Act, 1985: Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act provides the principal legal framework against trafficking.
- NCB: Narcotics Control Bureau coordinates national anti-narcotics enforcement.
- NCORD: Narco Coordination Centre facilitates cooperation among enforcement agencies.
Punjab’s Response
- Punjab’s Response drives the “Yudh Nashian Virudh” (War against Drugs) campaign through aggressive enforcement, cutting supply lines, and setting up OOAT de-addiction clinics for outpatient treatment.
- Simultaneously, the Central Government operates the “Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyan” (Drug-Free India Campaign) to run mass awareness programs and fund community-led rehabilitation centers across vulnerable districts.
- Under the Yudh Nashian Virudh campaign (2025), the Punjab government reported approximately 68,850 arrests and attachment or confiscation of assets worth ₹319 crore. However, arrests do not necessarily translate into convictions, and asset attachment does not automatically establish permanent forfeiture.
Way Forward
- Supply Reduction: Strengthen border surveillance, anti-drone systems and intelligence-sharing.
- Network Disruption: Investigate trafficking finances, corrupt facilitators and international criminal connections.
- Demand Reduction: Expand awareness, education and community-based prevention.
- Rehabilitation: Improve affordable de-addiction treatment, counselling and social reintegration.
- Public Safety: Strengthen witness protection and coordination against targeted killings.
Conclusion
Punjab’s drug crisis requires an integrated strategy combining border security, organised-crime investigation, financial enforcement and public-health rehabilitation. Sustainable solutions must dismantle trafficking networks while reducing addiction and protecting vulnerable communities.
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