The Narcotics Control Bureau’s (NCB) Annual Report 2025 has flagged a trafficking corridor from Myanmar into India’s North‑East as a major security concern, warning that the drug trade in the region is linked to arms smuggling and the financing of militant groups.“Myanmar has now overtaken Afghanistan as the leading source of illicit opium,” the report says, “with the change driven by the after-effects of the Taliban’s ban on poppy cultivation and the continued expansion of cultivation in Myanmar amid conflict and economic breakdown.” The porous border and cross-border movement regimes in the region, it says, heighten the risk.The report, which was released on Friday, has also pointed out that India is facing mounting pressure from a rapidly changing global narcotics landscape, marked by the rise of ultra-potent synthetic opioids and a record cocaine output.“Drug law enforcement agencies across the country registered an all-time high of over 1.48 lakh cases and effected seizures of more than 1,200 tonnes of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances. The scale and diversity of seizures, ranging from plant-based drugs to synthetic substances, pharmaceutical diversions and precursor chemicals, underscore the evolving and complex nature of the threat,” Director General, NCB, Anurag Garg, said.The report also warned that encrypted messaging platforms such as Telegram, WhatsApp, and Signal have become major channels for drug trafficking worldwide, including in India.Also Read | NCB busts darknet-based drug trafficking networkNitazenes and trafficking corridorsThe report flags two emerging threats that require urgent attention: the spread of nitazenes, a class of synthetic opioids said to be 500 times more potent than heroin, and the increasing link between drug trafficking and organised violence across transit economies.Synthetic drug markets, the report notes, are becoming more lethal and less predictable. “Nitazenes have emerged as a major global health threat, while polydrug combinations are signalling a broader shift towards more dangerous patterns of use. Their detection widened sharply across countries in recent years—from 13 countries in 2019-2020 to 35 countries, including Malaysia and Singapore, by 2023-2024—underlining the speed with which new synthetic substances are moving across borders,” the annual report said.Story continues below this adFor India, the implications are strategic. The report says the country is now exposed to supply-side pressure from all major trafficking corridors, requiring closer coordination among enforcement agencies and sharper monitoring of its maritime neighbourhood.Also Read | ‘Jihadi drug’ bust: NCB seizes 227 kg Captagon worth Rs 182 crore, arrests Syrian nationalGlobal cocaine productionThe warning comes amid wider global churn in drug production and trafficking. Global cocaine production, the annual report says, touched a record 3,708 tonnes in 2023, a 34 per cent increase over the previous year. That surge has contributed to a steep fall of around 40 per cent in coca paste prices and appears to be pushing trafficking networks to diversify into newer destination markets, including India.The report says cocaine production remains concentrated in the Andean region, with Colombia accounting for the largest share of global cultivation.“Worldwide cocaine seizures rose substantially between 2019 and 2023, while in India, cocaine seizures have jumped dramatically over the first half of the decade,” it said.Story continues below this adAccording to the report, amphetamine-type stimulants accounted for nearly half of all synthetic drug seizures globally in 2023, with methamphetamine and amphetamine remaining the dominant substances.Also Read | After paper leak row, why Centre has blocked Telegram in India until NEET re-examTelegram and drug distributionThe report also highlighted how encrypted messaging platforms such as Telegram, WhatsApp, and Signal have emerged as significant channels for drug trafficking distribution globally, including in India. “Unlike darknet markets, which require specialised access, these platforms are widely accessible via smartphones, lowering entry barriers and enabling broader reach,” the report said.Among these three apps, Telegram has become a prominent platform for drug advertising, with public channels offering product listings, pricing, and delivery details to large subscriber bases, the report flagged.“Enforcement on these platforms is challenging because of jurisdictional issues in securing platform cooperation, the ephemeral nature of content, including auto-deletion of messages, and the use of multiple accounts, layered communication methods, and cryptocurrency payments by vendors to maintain anonymity,” the report said.Story continues below this adAccording to the report, the convergence of darknet markets, synthetic drugs, and international postal systems has created a major enforcement challenge.