Nagaland Conference Labels Northeast Drug Crisis a Security Threat, Maps Unified Tech-Driven Response

Officials frame the crisis around inflows from Myanmar that place the Northeast at the center of India's anti-drug effort.

Overview

A two-day Regional ANTF conference in Dimapur/Chumoukedima gathered the NCB, Nagaland Police and Northeastern states, including Sikkim and West Bengal, to chart a regional plan.
NCB chief Anurag Garg called trafficking an emerging security challenge, saying proceeds fund organised crime, insurgent outfits, terror financing, arms trade and laundering, and pressed for tighter coordination via NCORD and ANTFs.
Nagaland DGP Rupin Sharma pushed 24x7 data-sharing with joint video interrogations and wider use of NIDAAN and NATGRID alongside tools such as darknet and crypto tracing, lawful intercepts, drones, ANPR and facial recognition.
Proposed measures spanned NDPS Act amendments with graded sentencing, a dedicated Northeast anti-drug agency, new and mobile narcotics forensic labs, and closer bank and FIU cooperation to follow money trails.
The agenda prioritised kingpins over couriers, crop destruction and expanded de-addiction with civil-society partners, while Sharma estimated about 1.2 lakh drug users in Nagaland; technical sessions will develop implementation steps.