Drug Intelligence Brief
INDIA COUNTRY BRIEF
MAY 2002
STATUS IN INTERNATIONAL DRUG TRAFFICKING
India is the worlds largest producer of licit opium; however, a
portion of the licit opium poppy crop is diverted to the illicit market.
Opium, obtained both through diversion and from illicit poppy cultivation,
is processed into heroin in India. Heroin is most often found in the form
of a crudely refined heroin base called brown sugar, although
white heroin hydrochloride (HCl) is also produced.
Indias large chemical industry produces a wide variety of precursor
and essential chemicals, including acetic anhydride (AA), potassium permanganate
(PP), ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, and other chemicals used to produce
amphetamine-type stimulants.
India serves as a minor source country for heroin, and also serves as
a transit country for Southwest Asian (SWA) heroin from Afghanistan that
often enters India from Pakistan. The transit of Southeast Asian (SEA)
heroin from Burma is not believed to be significant at this time. Heroin
from Burma is found primarily within the addict population of northeastern
India.
Indias large population includes a significant number of drug abusers,
although precise estimates are not available. Heroin, hashish, and pharmaceutical
drugs are readily available and widely abused. Brown sugar heroin is primarily
produced for domestic heroin users, since there is little market for this
type of heroin outside of India.
DRUG CULTIVATION AND PROCESSING
Opium
India is the largest producer of opium for the worlds pharmaceutical
industry. In 2001, India produced 726 metric tons of opium from 19,393
hectares planted with opium poppy. This amount fell short of the targeted
900 metric tons, reportedly due to severe drought conditions. In 2000,
India produced 1,302 metric tons of opium gum, which was an increase from
the 970 metric tons produced in 1999. India is the only country that permits
the legal extraction of opium gum rather than using the concentrate obtained
from the poppy straw (CPS) processing method. 1
The traditional method of collecting opium gum allows for the extraction
of thebaine, an alkaloid used to produce the pain reliever oxycodone.
Since thebaine is not present in CPS, other morphine-producing countries
were effectively excluded from the thebaine market. However, the synthetic
production of thebaine has become commercially viable in recent years.
In 1981, the United States applied the 80-20 rule to guarantee
that India and Turkey (also a traditional opium producer) have a combined
80-percent share of the U.S. pharmaceutical markets annual purchases
of morphine. The 80-20 rule reflected the realities of the morphine market,
as in 1981 when Australia, France, and other licit opium producers were
considered new or nontraditional producers and provided less than 20 percent
of global production. While India and Turkey still share 80 percent of
the U.S. market, they now share closer to half of the global market. The
80-20 rule will remain in effect until January 2006, at which time it
may be extended, modified, or discontinued.
Licit opium poppy cultivation is a labor-intensive and geographically
dispersed industry in India, with opium poppy cultivation permitted under
government control in the States of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Uttar
Pradesh. The Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN), which is part of the Department
of Revenue, is responsible for all facets of the opium industry. In addition
to monitoring the industry to prevent diversion, the CBN each year determines
the number of licensed growers and areas of cultivation, collects opium
gum from farmers, and operates two processing centers, one in Madhya Pradesh
and the other in Uttar Pradesh, where the opium is purified, dried, weighed,
and packaged. Farmers, if found to have diverted opium to the illicit
market, lose their licenses to cultivate opium and are subject to fines
and imprisonment.
The exact amount of opium diverted to the illicit market is unknown;
however, the most frequently reported estimates are that from 10 to 30
percent of the licit crop may be diverted. Using these estimates, diversion
from the 2000 crop may have ranged from 130 to 390 metric tons, which
means more illicit opium was available in India than in other heroin-producing
countries, such as Colombia, Mexico, or Laos. The United States and India
are collaborating on a study that will enable the Government of India
(GOI) to better estimate the amount of diversion. A joint licit opium
poppy survey is expected to provide a scientific basis for determining
a minimum-qualifying yield, which is the figure that farmers must meet
when turning in opium gum to the GOI. Should the minimum qualifying yield
not be met, the GOI will have a basis for investigating the discrepancy.
However, the large size and geographic scope of opium cultivation hampers
enforcement efforts.
Illicit opium cultivation also occurs in India. The GOI began eradication
efforts in northeast India in 1996 due to concern about increased illicit
cultivation. Reportedly, illicit cultivation occurs in the States of Bihar,
Uttar Pradesh, and Himachel Pradesh, as well as Arunachal Pradesh and
other parts of northeastern India. Indian officials continue to pursue
detection and destruction of illicit opium crops and the prosecution of
illicit cultivators. Indian officials reported that 378 hectares of illicit
opium poppy plants were destroyed in 2000.
Cannabis
Cannabis cultivation is illegal, yet widespread, in India. No estimates
as to the size of this illicit cultivation are available. Both marijuana
and hashish are processed in India. The Kullu Valley in Himachel Pradesh
is known to produce marijuana with a high THC content, which makes it
attractive to foreign hash ish buyers. However, the majority of Indian-produced
marijuana/hashish is likely for domestic use, although a percentage is
destined for the international market.
Illicit Drug Production
Opium is processed into heroin in illicit laboratories located in India.
These laboratories generally produce a low-quality brown heroin base (referred
to as brown sugar). Based on seizures and intelligence reports heroin
HCl, including export-quality white heroin, is also produced in India.
According to recent reporting of multikilogram seizures of white heroin,
it appears that Indian drug traffickers may be producing a greater amount
of white heroin than in the past.
Chemicals and Pharmaceutical Drugs
Chemicals such as AA, N-acetylanthranilic acid (N-AAA), ephedrine, pseudoephedrine,
ergonavine, PP, methylendioxyphenyl-2-propanone (MD2P2), phenyl acetone
(P2P), and other chemicals are legally manufactured in India. Indian officials
fully control access to a number of chemicals (such as AA, N-AAA, ephedrine,
and pseudoephedrine), but do not control all 22 chemicals listed in the
annex of the 1988 U.N. Convention. The GOI will consider controls on additional
chemicals when evidence is presented that locally produced chemicals are
being diverted. India is an active participant in DEAs Operation
TOPAZ and Operation PURPLE, which are international initiatives designed
to prevent the diversion of AA and PP.
Both ephedrine and pseudoephedrine produced in India are legally exported
to many countries, including the United States, Canada, Germany, and Mexico.
Ephedrine and pseudoephedrine can also be used for the illicit production
of methamphetamine. In 1999, Indian law was amended to include controls
on ephedrine. In most cases, ephedrine is diverted for illicit use from
pharmaceutical companies, as opposed to licensed producers or wholesalers
in India.
There are at least 12 legal producers of AA in India. AA is used to produce
licit pharmaceutical drugs and is also used in the textile industry. It
is the most commonly used chemical to convert morphine into heroin, and
can be used to synthesize the methaqualone precursor N-AAA and the methamphetamine
and amphetamine precursor, 1-phenyl-2-propanone. Despite GOI controls,
Indian-produced AA continues to be seized both en route to Afghanistans
heroin laboratories and to Burmas methamphetamine and heroin laboratories.
India is the worlds largest producer of illicit methaqualone. Methaqualone
is one of three categories of depressants, and is usually marketed under
the brand name Mandrax. Large seizures of Mandrax are not uncommon. For
example, in September 2000, over 2 metric tons of Mandrax powder was seized
near Hyderabad. In February 2001, 1.4 metric tons of Mandrax tablets were
seized in Bombay. A serious Mandrax abuse problem exists in South Africa
and, although methaqualone laboratories and tableting operations have
been seized in South Africa, India remains the source for a substantial
amount of the Mandrax abused in South Africa.
A wide range of pharmaceutical drugs are legally produced in India, including
phensidyl (a cough medicine containing codeine), buprenorphine (a narcotic),
and diazepam (a sedative), all of which are widely abused throughout India.
TRAFFICKING
The United States remains a very minor market for heroin from India,
whether it has been produced or has transited through India. Heroin produced
in India is trafficked to international locations, although the total
amount is negligible compared to the quantities of heroin produced in
Burma, Afghanistan, or Colombia. The most common type of heroin produced
in India, brown sugar, has only a limited market outside of the region.
However, seizures of shipments en route to and within Sri Lanka suggest
that there is a market for heroin produced in India.
India is both a transit country and a destination for heroin and hashish
originating in neighboring Nepal, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. Although
the border is closely monitored, and tensions remain high between India
and Pakistan, opiates continue to enter India overland from Pakistan.
Sea and air routes are also used to bring heroin from southern Pakistan.
An unknown percentage of this heroin remains in India, but some also transits
India en route to international destinations, especially from New Delhi
or Bombay by couriers traveling on commercial airliners. Little information
is available on heroin and hashish smuggling by sea, although this is
believed to occur.
Hashish, produced in India, is also smuggled to North America, although
the destination is generally reported as Canada and not the United States.
In August 2000, 2 metric tons of hashish from Nepal were seized in India;
this hashish was reportedly destined for the United States.
TRAFFICKING GROUPS
Trafficking groups operating in India include nationals from India, Afghanistan,
Pakistan, and Nepal. Even though India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh are no
longer combined into one country (as they were prior to 1947), family
connections remain strong in the region, and provide a network of contacts
that facilitate cross-border trafficking.
Nigerian traffickers are present in India, particularly in Delhi. In
some instances, Nigerian-controlled couriers transit through India enroute
to international destinations. This is apparently an effort to avoid law
enforcement authorities at the destination airport, as passengers arriving
from major drug-producing or transit countries are subject to greater
scrutiny. Pakistani officials continue to arrest couriers, who are ticketed
to India, at airports in Lahore, Karachi, and Islamabad. In other cases,
West African traffickers reside in India and primarily sell heroin and
hashish in-country to other Africans and Indians.
There are only two authorized border crossings on Indias northeastern
border with Burma, but the border is fairly porous. This region is connected
to the rest of India by only a 32-kilometer strip of land, while bordered
by Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Burma. This region is home to a number of insurgent
groups and reporting suggests that, while these groups are not involved
in drug production or drug trafficking, they may profit from some aspects
of the drug trade. For example, several groups in Nagaland, including
the Isaac-Muivah and Khaplang factions of the National Socialist Council
of Nagaland, reportedly tax and extort money from traffickers in return
for protection or the right to conduct traffic in drugs. These groups
in Nagaland are of Tibeto-Burmese ethnic origin, with Nagas 2
living in remote parts of northwest Sagaing District in Burma, and in
the State of Nagaland in India. The Peoples Revolutionary Party
of Kangleipak, a leftist group headquartered in Manipur, and the All Tripura
Tribal/Tiger Force in Triura are other groups that reportedly profit from
extortion and may facilitate cross-border drug trafficking.
Ethnic Tamils in the southern India State of Tamil Nadu are involved
in trafficking between India and Sri Lanka, an independent island off
the southern coast of India. Heroin destined for Sri Lanka is regularly
seized in India and in the Gulf of Mannar between India and Sri Lanka.
Some reports suggest that the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE),
a Sri Lankan separatist group, receives funding from drug trafficking,
although no direct nexus between the LTTE and drug trafficking has been
confirmed.
Organized Indian crime syndicates, such as the organization headed by
the well-known Indian criminal Dawood Ibrahim, are also reportedly involved
in drug trafficking and money laundering activities.
DRUG-RELATED MONEY LAUNDERING
India is not considered an international or regional financial center,
but money laundering does occur in the country. The banking system is
likely used to some extent, especially as anti-money laundering legislation
has not moved beyond draft form. However, the primary means used to transfer
and launder drug proceeds is the informal banking system known as hawala.
The hawala system is an underground banking network composed of
businesses that engage in international commerce. Through these companies,
large sums of money can be transferred internationally with little paperwork
and no physical movement of funds.
DRUG ABUSE AND TREATMENT
The exact number of drug abusers in the country is not known. India is
the second most populous country in the world with an estimated population
of over 986 million people (1999 National Geographic estimate). Drug abuse
is widespread throughout the country. The GOI and the U.N. Drug Control
Program are conducting a nationwide study on narcotics addiction and initial
results are soon to be released.
Cannabis, heroin, and Indian-produced pharmaceutical drugs are the most
frequently abused drugs in India. Cannabis products, often called charras,
bhang, or ganja, are abused throughout the country. In fact,
crushed marijuana (bhang) is used to season foods and spice drinks
during religious ceremonies and on festival days in some parts of India.
Cocaine, LSD, and MDMA are available, but not widely used due, in part,
to their high cost.
Heroin is readily available in India. Most users smoke a locally processed
heroin called brown sugar by breathing in the smoke (known as, chasing
the dragon.) In the northeast, high-purity, low-cost heroin from
Burma dominates. Intravenous drug use is highest in northeastern India.
In addition to heroin abuse, the intravenous injection of proxyvon is
also a problem in the States of Manipur and Mizoram. Proxyvon is a legally
produced analgesic and opium derivative. Users inject a suspension of
proxyvon powder and water, which leads to a very short yet intense high.
Other pharmaceutical drugs are also abused. Morphine derivatives, such
as buprenorphine, diazepam, and codeine can be obtained relatively easily
from pharmacies, even though prescriptions are technically required. Phensidyl
is heavily abused in the Indian State of West Bengal.
Burmese-produced methamphetamine tablets appear to be a relatively minor
problem in India; however, seizures do occur. For example, in September
2000, 1,985 tablets were seized from two Indian males as they were crossing
the border from Burma into India. In another incident, in September 2000,
75 amphetamine tablets were seized from a Burmese male who crossed the
border at Moreh, India.
DRUG ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES/LEGISLATION
The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), established in 1986, is the primary
drug law enforcement agency and is responsible for coordinating antidrug
activities of all of Indias law enforcement agencies. The NCB is
currently under the Ministry of Finance, but the NCB will be transferred
to the Home Ministry in April 2002. The CBN, staffed with approximately
1,600 personnel, is responsible for all aspects of the opium industry
and is responsible for preventing illicit trafficking in precursor chemicals.
The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence is also part of the Ministry of
Finance and responsible for information relating to smuggling of goodsincluding
drugsinto or out of India. The Customs Commission has a wide variety
of drug law enforcement tasks and falls under the Ministry of Finances
Central Board of Excise and Customs. The Border Security Force, under
the Home Ministry, is a paramilitary force that controls Indias
land borders and frequently interdicts drug shipments.
In October 2001, the GOI amended the Narcotics Drug and Psychotropic
Drug Act of 1985. The most significant amendments include changing the
law to allow for sentencing to be based on the size of the drug seizure
and to formally authorize controlled deliveries inside and outside of
India. Prior to this change, individuals found with small amounts of illicit
drugs were subject to the same penalties as large-scale drug traffickers.
Drug Seizures |
|
1998
|
1999
|
2000
|
2001
|
Heroin (kilograms) |
655
|
861
|
1,236
|
813
|
Morphine (kilograms) |
19
|
36
|
37
|
23
|
Opium (kilograms) |
2,031
|
1,635
|
2,540
|
2,321
|
Hashish (kilograms) |
10,106
|
3,391
|
4,936
|
5,164
|
Marijuana (kilograms) |
68,221
|
40,113
|
96,6827
|
75,943
|
Sources: 1998-1999: Department
of State's International Narcotics Control
Strategy Report (INCSR)
2000-2001:
DEA's New Dehli Country Office |
TREATIES AND CONVENTIONS
India has bilateral agreements on drug trafficking with 13 countries,
including Pakistan and Burma. Prior to 1999, extradition between India
and the United States occurred under the auspices of a 1931 treaty signed
by the United States and the United Kingdom, which was made applicable
to India in 1942. However, a new extradition treaty between India and
the United States entered into force in July 1999. A Mutual Legal Assistance
Treaty was signed by India and the United States in October 2001. India
also is signatory to the following treaties and conventions:
KEY JUDGMENTS
Indian authorities must continue to control diversion of the licit opium
crop. This situation is dependent, to some extent, on events in Afghanistan,
previously the worlds largest producer of illicit opium. If opium
poppy cultivation remains low in Afghanistan, it would be more lucrative
for Indian traffickers to process opium diverted from their licit or illicit
markets. Additionally, enhanced border controls may reduce the amount
of Afghan heroin available in India. However, due to geographic proximity,
India will definitely continue to be a transit country for SWA heroin
originating in Afghanistan.
Indian heroin production may increase if tensions between India and Pakistan
lead to even closer control of the traffic of people and commodities on
the border between the two countries, which would reduce the amount of
SWA heroin smuggled through Pakistan into India.
India will continue to be a major supplier of chemicals diverted to the
illicit market. India actively seeks to control diversion and cooperates
effectively with other countries. However, chemical traffickers are expected
to find ways to evade law enforcement authorities, which may require enhanced
monitoring of the large chemical industry.
Indias large population is at risk for increased drug abuse due
to easy availability and low cost of both domestically produced drugs
and drugs smuggled into the country from Burma, Nepal, Afghanistan, and
Pakistan.
1
In the CPS process, poppy pods are dried on the stalk in the fields, and
then crushed in order to remove the seeds. The seeds are used for a food
product and the crushed pods are processed in a factory in order to extract
the alkaloids. In India, however, farmers lance poppy pods in the fields
in order to remove opium. Farmers then turn in the collected opium gum
to the government.
2
The term Naga is used for the many tribes living in this region, who speak
different and mutually unintelligible dialects.
This report was prepared
by the DEA Intelligence Division, Office of International Intelligence,
Europe, Asia, Africa Strategic Unit. This report reflects information
received prior to May 2002. Comments and requests for copies are welcome
and may be directed to the Intelligence Production Unit, Intelligence
Division, DEA Headquarters, at (202) 307-8726. |
DEA-02022
|