India and Sri Lanka held their fifth Director General-level talks between the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and Sri Lanka's Police Narcotics Bureau (PNB) in Colombo on 23 September 2026, with both sides focusing on dismantling transnational drug trafficking networks through enhanced intelligence sharing, joint operations, and coordination on fugitives.

Who Led the Delegations

The Indian delegation was headed by R. Sudhakar, IPS, NCB Deputy Director General (Southern Region), while the Sri Lankan side was led by K.D.G.L. Ashoka Dharmasena, Head of the PNB. The deliberations were inaugurated by Priyantha Weerasooriya, Head of Sri Lanka's Police.

Representatives from the Indian Coast Guard, the Ministry of External Affairs, and Tamil Nadu Police also participated, reflecting the multi-agency scope of India's counter-narcotics engagement with its island neighbour.

Key Areas of Discussion

The two sides examined maritime trafficking trends, coastal security vulnerabilities, and mechanisms for real-time intelligence exchange. Both delegations discussed concrete steps to detect, disrupt, and dismantle cross-border drug syndicates — a challenge that has grown more acute as trafficking routes through the Indian Ocean have become increasingly sophisticated.

This is the fifth such bilateral meeting at the Director General level, underscoring a sustained institutional framework between the two neighbours on narcotics enforcement.

India's Broader Anti-Drug Push at BRICS

The Colombo talks come on the heels of a significant multilateral initiative. In July 2026, India proposed the creation of a BRICS Virtual Working Group for real-time intelligence sharing and coordinated enforcement against transnational drug syndicates at the two-day BRICS Heads of Anti-Drug Agencies meeting held in Guwahati, under India's BRICS Chairship 2026.

Addressing that inaugural session, NCB Director General Anurag Garg called on BRICS drug law enforcement agencies to build 'a partnership based on speed, trust and seamless real-time intelligence sharing that transcends national borders and enables swift action against organised international drug trafficking networks.'

Garg further noted that 'the increasing sophistication of transnational drug syndicates demands greater coordination, faster information exchange and stronger operational collaboration among BRICS nations.'

India's Three-Year Anti-Narcotics Roadmap

At the Guwahati meeting, Garg outlined India's three-year roadmap for 2026-29, framed under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah. The strategy is built on a network-centric enforcement approach — prioritising the dismantling of entire criminal organisations rather than isolated offenders.

The roadmap also emphasises large-scale public awareness campaigns on drug abuse prevention, alongside strengthened treatment, de-addiction, and rehabilitation infrastructure across the country.

With bilateral talks now institutionalised at the Director General level and a multilateral BRICS mechanism on the table, the next phase will test whether intelligence-sharing commitments translate into operational takedowns of active trafficking networks.