Narcotics Trafficking in Northeast India: Barricading India’s development-focused Act East Policy

India’s continued effort towards establishing a stable and resilient connectivity with its Southeast Asian neighbours has brought about substantial policies that aim towards establishing stability on a domestic level. This effort was rather expected: the current government’s effort to distinguish its policy as “proactive” meant expanding its principal focus of foreign policy alignment to construct a domestic development-driven agenda driven by improvements in infrastructure and connectivity. Equally, such effort further meant transforming the economic landscape of its domestic regions, thereby making them “investor-friendly”, benefitting alternative business partners (1).

Such a shift to a home-centric approach has solidified the importance of the North Eastern Region (NER), making its transition into a key strategic gateway a top priority for the government. The priorities as such are explicitly outlined: in 2018, Prime Minister Modi highlighted NER's significance in the Act East Policy (AEP). As a result, the region has seen increased investments aimed at enhancing local transportation and connectivity while also presenting new opportunities for sectors such as semiconductors, AI, and green energy (2).

However, the ambitiousness of AEP, coupled with India’s efforts to centralise linkages with Southeast Asia amidst observing disparities in execution and performance, would be contesting against the growing security concern in NER: transnational narcotic trafficking. The alarming upsurge in drug seizures since 2015 (with a particular rise being observed in heroin and methamphetamine) in the region has provoked substantial security concerns, including threats caused by the foundation of newer routes for border evasion, as well as facilitating regional insurgency through cross-border financing. The existence of such problems, however, is not new: evidence of first usages of heroin in the region dates back to 1974 (3). The continuation of an upsurge in HIV/AIDS cases since 1989 has underlined increased abuse among the population, with AIDS-related mortality rates rocketing in Manipur (with 36.8%) and Mizoram (with 28.3%) by 2004 (4).

Renewed concerns towards the threat, however, create an additional layer of limitations: between July 2022 and July 2023, Manipur police seized contraband valued at approx. US$ 193 million.

 In comparison, such seizures were valued at approx. US$ 10.17 million in FY 2021-22 (5). In fact, between the period of January 1 and April 25 of 2024, the Excise and Narcotics Department of Mizoram apprehended 2297 individuals and 30 vehicles linked to illicit drug trafficking (6). The factor for such a surge, however, is linked to the socio-political tensions in Myanmar and the initiation of regional ethnic conflicts since 2021. Experts posit that around 90% of drugs smuggled in NER originate from Myanmar (7).

 The indication of a correlation between heightened drug production in Myanmar and the upsurge of seizures in NER cannot be ignored. For instance, a spike in opium production in Myanmar in 2011-13 resulted in increased drug seizures in Assam. Accordingly, the Myanmar government’s ban on opium production in 2014 was followed by a decline in seizures in Assam (8). The coup of 2021, however, has brought about a substantial increase in drug trafficking as a consequence of the increasing rural population of Myanmar shifting to such cultivation due to profitable returns, as Myanmar’s rural credit system and GDP fell by 12% in 2024 since the coup. The surge in demand is further facilitated by Afghanistan’s ban on opium production in 2022, thereby changing the dynamics of the drugs market: with the Golden Triangle (tri-junction at Myanmar, Laos, and Thailand borders) regaining significance (9).

Such a surge has provoked substantial concerns in terms of regional security architecture in NER, particularly highlighting the pre-existing fault lines that have now been underlined due to the increased drug production. The cultivation of a nexus between illicit drug trafficking and ethnic insurgency has had its effect in ongoing political tensions in the region, including insurgent groups like Chin Kuki Liberation Army (CKLA), United Tribal Liberation Army (UTLA), and Kuki National Organization (KNO) being involved in drug seizure cases. Subsequently, the porous nature of the Indo-Myanmar border has allowed for illegal incursion of population onto the border regions, some of which are assumed to have linkages with drug networks(10). Furthermore, the transformation of states like Manipur and Mizoram into transit hubs for drug trafficking and distribution to distant markets leads to the establishment of imminent routes, bringing forth the potential for the distribution of arms and human trafficking. Health concerns remain a crucial point of focus as well, with rising HIV/AIDs cases hampering the availability of a productive and skilled workforce to foster development in the region. Such hindrances could have potential effects on investments and the maintenance of security of businesses, as well as critical infrastructure, which could stand as potential targets for insurgent groups.

India’s efforts towards initiatives involving socio-economic development of NER and improvements to connectivity with Southeast Asia as such face a substantial security threat from expanding drug trafficking in the region, for which India needs to navigate through a troubled waters to balance national security concerns (including fencing of the Indo-Myanmar border and increased scrutinisation) and, as such, increase enforcement whilst maintaining cultural and social cohesion with its Southeast Asian neighbours in this frontier. Any recalibration towards promoting economic transformation as such requires twinning efforts towards enhancing border security measures, diversifying diplomatic efforts, and developing resilient infrastructure.

Endnotes

1 Sachoiba Inkah, “Re-examining the Implication of Act East Policy in Northeast India: Narratives and Challenges”, Dera Natung Government College Research Journal, January 2023.

2 “Tata plans Rs27,000-cr electronics manufacturing unit, green energy investment in Assam”, domainB, 28 Feb

2025.

3 “Drug use in the Northeastern States of India”, UNODC

4 Sujit Chakraborty, “HIV/AIDS EPIDEMIC IN NORTHEAST ALARMING: REPORT”, The Daily Guardian, 1 December 2020.

5 Sreeparna Banerjee, “From Poppy Fields to Black Markets: Understanding the Drug Trade Across India and Myanmar”, ORF, 3 Oct 2024.

6 ibid.

7 Orphelia Yumlembam, “Indo-Myanmar border fencing initiative: Assessing imperatives and challenges”, ORF, 18

May 2024.

8 Lakshmipriya Vijayan, “Challenges To India’s National Security: The Illicit Flow Of Drugs From Myanmar To India-Pre And Post Myanmar Coup Of 2021”, CENJOWS, 8 June 2023.

9 Lt Gen P R Shankar (R), “Analysing Myanmar’s Civil and Drugs War”, Financial Express, 28 Nov 2023.

10 ibid.