India on Monday, 6 July 2026 proposed the creation of a BRICS Virtual Working Group for real-time intelligence sharing and coordinated enforcement against transnational drug syndicates, as the two-day BRICS Heads of Anti-Drug Agencies Meeting opened in Guwahati under India's BRICS Chairship 2026. The high-level gathering has brought together heads of anti-drug agencies and senior officials from across BRICS member nations to confront the growing global challenge of drug trafficking and substance abuse.

India's Proposal at the Summit

Anurag Garg, Director General of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and head of the Indian delegation, urged BRICS drug law enforcement agencies to build a partnership grounded in speed, trust, and seamless real-time intelligence sharing that cuts across national borders. He stressed that such a framework would enable swift, coordinated action against organised international drug trafficking networks.

Garg underlined that the increasing sophistication of transnational drug syndicates demands greater coordination, faster information exchange, and stronger operational collaboration among BRICS nations. India's formal proposal calls for institutionalising real-time intelligence exchange, jointly analysing emerging trafficking trends, coordinating enforcement operations, and developing a future-ready collaborative framework to combat evolving drug-related threats.

India's Three-Year Anti-Drug Roadmap

Highlighting India's anti-drug strategy under Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Garg reiterated the country's zero-tolerance policy against narcotics. He outlined a three-year roadmap for 2026-29 built on a network-centric enforcement approach.

The strategy focuses on dismantling entire criminal networks rather than targeting isolated offenders, preventing drug abuse through large-scale awareness campaigns, and strengthening treatment, de-addiction, and rehabilitation mechanisms — a shift from reactive policing to systemic disruption.

Key Deliberations Over Two Days

Over the course of the meeting, participating countries are expected to deliberate on emerging trends in synthetic drugs, cross-border trafficking routes, technology-enabled narcotics networks, and measures to bolster collective enforcement capabilities. This comes amid growing global concern over the proliferation of synthetic opioids and the use of encrypted digital platforms by trafficking networks.

Notably, the Guwahati meeting marks one of the first major multilateral anti-narcotics forums held under India's BRICS presidency, signalling New Delhi's intent to use the chairship to push for concrete enforcement architecture rather than declaratory commitments.

Expected Outcomes

The meeting is expected to conclude with a renewed commitment to enhancing cooperation among BRICS countries through intelligence-led operations, capacity building, and coordinated action against international drug trafficking networks. If adopted, the proposed Virtual Working Group would represent a structural step toward operationalising BRICS anti-drug cooperation beyond periodic summits.