Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha on Friday, 28 August told the state assembly that his government has adopted a zero-tolerance policy against narcotics, even as the illegal trade in synthetic drugs has risen sharply in recent years, increasingly displacing traditional and naturally derived substances. Saha was responding to questions raised by senior Indian National Congress (INC) legislator Gopal Chandra Roy on the second day of the Monsoon Session of the Tripura Legislative Assembly in Agartala.

Rising Conviction Rates

Chief Minister Saha, who also holds the Home portfolio, told the House that sustained enforcement efforts have yielded measurable results. The conviction rate for drug peddlers and illegal traders climbed to 14.7% in the period from January to July 2025, up from 11.7% in 2023. He added that the state has strengthened coordination between the police and the judiciary to sustain this upward trend.

The state police have also established a dedicated special unit to handle cases registered under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985 — a structural step aimed at improving investigative efficiency and prosecution outcomes.

Congress Allegations and Government Response

Congress MLA Gopal Chandra Roy alleged that a section of police personnel were themselves involved in the illegal drug trade and narcotics-related activities — a charge that drew a firm rebuttal from the Chief Minister. Saha reiterated that no individual found complicit in unlawful narcotics activity would be spared, regardless of their position.

Roy also claimed that drugs were being smuggled into Tripura through the railway network and that narcotics-related activities had spread across the state on a massive scale. The government, meanwhile, has launched a parallel awareness campaign targeting parents, guardians, and educational institutions. 'I have personally urged parents and guardians to remain more alert so that their school- and college-going children do not get involved in drug abuse,' Saha said.

What Is Being Smuggled and How

According to senior police officials, the substances being trafficked into Tripura include highly addictive methamphetamine tablets — banned in India — along with heroin and cough syrups containing Codeine Phosphate, the latter reportedly in illegal use as a narcotic in neighbouring Bangladesh. These substances are smuggled from other Indian states, including several in the Northeast.

Mizoram and Manipur have emerged as the region's primary drug-trafficking corridors, owing to their long and porous international borders with Myanmar and their proximity to the Golden Triangle — one of the world's largest illicit narcotics-producing zones. Myanmar shares a 1,643-km border with four Northeastern states: Arunachal Pradesh (520 km), Manipur (398 km), Nagaland (215 km), and Mizoram (510 km), with substantial stretches remaining unfenced.

The Northeast's Vulnerability

Myanmar's Chin State is identified as a key smuggling route for narcotics, exotic wildlife, and other contraband, funnelled through six districts of Mizoram. Similarly, five districts of Manipur sharing an unfenced international border with Myanmar have been flagged as high-risk trafficking corridors. The combination of difficult terrain, limited fencing, and proximity to the Golden Triangle makes the region structurally exposed to cross-border drug flows — a challenge that extends well beyond Tripura's own enforcement capacity.

What Comes Next

The Tripura government's dual-track approach — tightening enforcement while scaling up community awareness — reflects a broader recognition that supply-side crackdowns alone are insufficient. With synthetic drugs proving harder to detect and trace than traditional narcotics, the state's special NDPS unit and improved judicial coordination will face an increasingly complex challenge in the months ahead.