Punjab is heading into Assembly elections under the shadow of a deepening narcotics crisis, with fresh enforcement data and a high-level national conference on 22 September 2026 underscoring just how far the state's drug problem extends — from border villages to suspected electoral financing. Despite a reported 40 per cent rise in drug cases since 2022, trafficking networks continue to evolve, employing drones, encrypted communications and hawala channels to move money across borders.

The Scale of Punjab's Drug Problem

Of 73 districts classified by the Union government as 'ultrasensitive' under the Nasha Mukt Bharat (Drug-free India) campaign, six lie in Punjab. These include Amritsar, Fazilka, Ferozepur, Gurdaspur and Tarn Taran — all along the Pakistan border — plus the industrial city of Ludhiana. A further 274 districts nationally carry 'sensitive' designation.

The Bhagwant Mann-led state government has reportedly intensified its flagship anti-drug drive, Yudh Nasheyan Virudh. According to official data, 73,541 cases under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985 were registered between 2022 and the end of April 2026 — a rise of more than 40 per cent from 52,255 cases logged between 2017 and 2021. Arrests in the same period reached 98,596, up nearly 45 per cent from 68,064 previously. The administration attributed the surge in figures to sustained, large-scale action against trafficking networks.

National Conference and Fresh Arrests

On Tuesday, 22 September, New Delhi hosted the third National Conference of the Anti-Narcotics Task Force (ANTF), signalling a push to tighten the Centre-State framework against drug trafficking. The same day, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested a narcotics smuggler in Delhi, allegedly connected with large-scale import of heroin concealed in semi-processed talc, with contraband seizures spanning Delhi, Punjab and Haryana.

Separately, the Haryana Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) unearthed an international narco-terrorism case with the arrest of seven accused. Investigators found that proceeds of approximately ₹74 crore from illegal drug sales had been transferred via hawala to Afghanistan and used to fund terrorist activities, according to reports.

Drone-Led Smuggling: A Rapidly Escalating Threat

Punjab has emerged as the country's most drone-affected border state for drug trafficking, according to Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai, who raised the issue in the Rajya Sabha. In 2025 alone, 305 drone-related trafficking incidents were recorded nationally — of which 298 occurred along the Punjab border, resulting in the seizure of roughly 460 kg of narcotic drugs, including 448 kg of heroin, 9 kg of methamphetamine and 3 kg of opium.

Trafficking syndicates operating from across the border have increasingly deployed sophisticated methods: GPS-enabled consignments, encrypted communications and local receiver networks. Official records confirm that Punjab is the primary gateway for narcotics trafficked from Afghanistan via Pakistan, with National Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) data pointing to massive seizures year after year.

NIA Charge Sheets and the Afghanistan–Pakistan–Dubai Nexus

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has filed six charge sheets against multiple accused for conspiring with an international drug-smuggling syndicate based out of Afghanistan, Pakistan and Dubai. The network allegedly operated under the direction of a wanted accused identified as Vitaysh Koser alias Raju Dubai, alongside Pakistani ISI agents and Afghan nationals. The charge sheets illustrate the transnational architecture behind what investigators describe as narco-terrorism.

Money, Elections, and What the Centre Is Doing

Agencies remain on alert over narco-terror money being funnelled into Punjab through heroin smuggling networks, with proceeds reportedly used for terror financing and suspected to be influencing local politics ahead of elections. This comes amid concerns that illicit drug money could distort the electoral process in a state already identified as hypervulnerable.

The Centre has deployed advanced anti-drone systems along vulnerable border stretches, alongside hi-tech surveillance cameras, new-design fencing and floodlighting. The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has also released ₹5.67 crore during 2024–25 and 2025–26 under the National Action Plan for Drug Demand Reduction (NAPDDR) scheme to Punjab.

With elections approaching and trafficking networks showing no sign of retreat, Punjab's drug challenge is set to remain both a law-enforcement and a political flashpoint in the months ahead.