In the 10 years since Bihar imposed prohibition – back in April 2016 – its police have seized around 3.16 crore litres of liquor and made around 7.15 lakh related arrests. That is an average of about 8,650 litres and 196 arrests every day. But this is not the story. The story is the emergence a parallel illegal goods market – selling narcotics – taking shape beyond the liquor business; packets of brown sugar, pills, injection vials, and heroin, as well as a raw variant called ‘kota’. All of these are pocket-sized contraband, small enough to fit in soap boxes or even the folds of a petticoat, and that makes detection a particular challenge.Over the past three months, The Indian Express reviewed case records and police data, and spoke to law enforcement agencies, social workers and doctors. And we found that cases under the NDPS Act – i.e., the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act of 1985 – have risen sharply. Police fear these are also behind increased juvenile crime rates. At the other end of the spectrum, the worry is also that de-addiction programmes have not kept pace; central government-backed facilities operate in less than a third of Bihar districts.Bihar’s drug crisis in numbersScroll through the graphics below and tap through maps to see the crisis unfold.Why drugs are replacing liquor in BiharProhibition pushed the price of black-market liquor to about Rs 1,500 a bottle. Officers say a smaller, cheaper dose of drugs now keeps users intoxicated far longer.How drugs reach Bihar: the Northeast pipelineMuch of the heroin and ‘kota’ reaching Bihar starts in Myanmar and travels through the Northeast. Ganja and poppy husk arrive on separate routes from Nepal and neighbouring states.Inside police files: how Bihar cops map drug trade File 01GanjaFile 02CharasFile 03OpiumFile 04HeroinHeroin: From the Myanmar border, through BiharWhat the map marksAn arrow runs from the Northeast into Bihar, and on to the shaded states.What officers told The Indian ExpressHigh-grade heroin, methamphetamine and ‘kota’ enter India through porous stretches of the Mizoram and Manipur borders, a senior officer said, and move along the Champhai–Aizawl–Silchar corridor into Assam.Source: Bihar Police document, accessed by The Indian Express; officers quoted by The Indian Express. Maps reproduced as they appear in the document.Created by Chandrashekar SrinivasanExpress InfoGenIE A Bihar Police document accessed by The Indian Express maps where each drug is produced and where it travels. Three of the four maps show Bihar as a corridor for drugs headed to other states.What Bihar Police are seizing: from ganja to cocaineSeizure records show which drugs police are finding, and in what quantities. Pharmaceutical drugs such as tablets and injections have risen the fastest.Where NDPS cases are rising: Bihar’s district drug map Choose a year ↓ (bars show the state total) 20211,469 20221,822 20232,121 20242,411 20252,716 2026*1,9052021Bihar total: 1,469 NDPS cases2022Bihar total: 1,822 NDPS cases2023Bihar total: 2,121 NDPS cases2024Bihar total: 2,411 NDPS cases2025Bihar total: 2,716 NDPS cases2026*Bihar total: 1,905 NDPS cases (January to May only)BagahaBGH614151497BettiahBTH514759688648MotihariMOT626994113189200SheoharSHE5112431SitamarhiSIT93818110916878MadhubaniMDB3924868211968SupaulSUP16306610713690ArariaARA4355123254184116KishanganjKIS313756476539SiwanSIW171214194129GopalganjGOP474957704420MuzaffarpurMUZ169210166926628DarbhangaDAR373231273123SaharsaSAH5720503245MadhepuraMDP3477821008661PurniaPUR817712018818568SaranSAR261935292925VaishaliVAI454846575665SamastipurSAM861610920KhagariaKHA91116152725NaugachiaNAU92427201912KatiharKAT914288313552BuxarBUX434343262511BhojpurBHO505829405522PatnaPAT187243265212372389BegusaraiBEG222528469147MungerMUN999141212BhagalpurBHA5110891658782KaimurKAI354858584611RohtasROH121524303017ArwalARW6926161JehanabadJEH79271115NalandaNAL132740362829SheikhpuraSKP227100LakhisaraiLAK885538BankaBAN10471099AurangabadAUR17201318145GayaGAY50781091137065NawadaNAW2914824124JamuiJAM9211044Railway police districtsCases in the year: 0–9 10–24 25–49 50–99 100–199 200+Schematic map: each tile is a police district, placed roughly where it sits in Bihar (on phones, tiles show three-letter codes); Bagaha and Bettiah are both in West Champaran, Motihari is East Champaran and Naugachia is in Bhagalpur. *2026 covers January to May only.Source: State Crime Records Bureau (SCRB), BiharCreated by Chandrashekar SrinivasanExpress InfoGenIE NDPS cases rose every year from 2021 to 2025, with some of the sharpest growth in the state’s north-east. Tap through the years to see the shift.Story continues below this adWho is at risk: the young and the untreatedPolice fear cheap drugs are reaching juveniles, and the number of people seeking treatment has soared. Yet de-addiction support has not kept pace.READ STORY | How ‘Kota’ drug smuggled via Myanmar is spreading in BiharWATCH ON YOUTUBEFAQThe questions below sum up the key findings of this investigation. Tap a question to see the answer.