The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on Monday, 8 June 2026 released a comprehensive roundup of its anti-drug operations in May 2026, highlighting landmark actions including the seizure of 349 kg of high-grade cocaine worth ₹1,745 crore in Mumbai and India's first-ever seizure of Captagon tablets. The agency described the month as reflecting its 'relentless and coordinated efforts' to protect the country from drug trafficking and substance abuse.

Headline Bust: ₹1,745 Crore Cocaine Seizure in Mumbai

On 1 May, the NCB dismantled a major international narcotics network in Mumbai, seizing 349 kg of high-grade cocaine valued at approximately ₹1,745 crore. The operation marked one of the largest single cocaine hauls in India's enforcement history and targeted a transnational supply chain.

Separately, the month also saw India record its first-ever seizure of Captagon — a synthetic stimulant widely associated with conflict zones in West Asia and increasingly flagged by international drug enforcement agencies as an emerging trafficking threat.

Key Arrests and Convictions

On 17 May, NCB Aizawl arrested Thancintuang alias Chintuang, a Myanmar-based drug kingpin, in Delhi through an intelligence-led operation targeting transnational methamphetamine and heroin trafficking networks.

The month also delivered significant courtroom outcomes. On 5 May, a court sentenced Mohammad Wali, Mohammad Rehan Shah — both residents of Pauta Kalan in Uttar Pradesh's Pilibhit district — and Imran Khan of Neoria, Pilibhit, to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment in connection with a 10 kg charas seizure case registered by NCB Delhi in 2021. On 27 May, Nigerian national Egwin Kingsley Ugochukwu was sentenced to 15 years of rigorous imprisonment in a 2.325 kg amphetamine case registered by NCB Chennai in 2021.

Precursor Chemical and Lab Seizures

Rajasthan emerged as a major focus of enforcement activity. On 7 May, a joint operation by NCB Jodhpur and Rajasthan Police seized 19 kg of 2-Bromo-4-Methylpropiophenone — a controlled precursor chemical — along with 25 litres of acetone, 50 litres of toluene, and 10 litres of hydrochloric acid. The following day, a joint operation by the Anti-Narcotics Task Force (ANTF) Rajasthan and NCB Jodhpur recovered 228 kg of 2-Bromo, a substance used in the manufacture of mephedrone (MD), from a tanker.

On 21 May, Rajasthan Police, backed by NCB Jodhpur, busted a clandestine mephedrone manufacturing laboratory in Modkiya, Phalodi, acting on specific intelligence inputs.

Ganja Seizures and Inter-State Syndicate Busts

NCB units across multiple states conducted a series of large ganja seizures through the second half of May. On 13 May, NCB Odisha seized 106 kg of ganja concealed in a stockyard in Sambalpur during an operation against an inter-state drug syndicate. This was followed by the seizure of 702 kg of ganja in Maharashtra's Gondia district on 22 May, 802.245 kg of ganja by NCB Siliguri on 23 May, and 479 kg of ganja by NCB Ranchi in Simdega on 31 May.

On 2 May, NCB Jaipur convened a quarterly State-Level Joint Coordination Committee (JCC) meeting for Rajasthan to strengthen inter-agency narcotics intelligence and enforcement coordination. The NCB shared a video summary of the month's operations on social media platform X, framing May as a benchmark period for multi-agency drug enforcement. With transnational networks, precursor chemical labs, and emerging synthetic drugs all surfacing in a single month, the bureau's next enforcement cycle will be closely watched.