New Delhi: Amid an intensified police crackdown on drug trafficking, cases registered under drug-related offences in Delhi rose by around 20% in 2025 compared with 2024, while arrests increased by nearly 25% during the same period.According to Delhi Police data, the number of cases registered under Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act rose from 1,789 in 2024 to 2,154 the next year. The number of individuals arrested in connection with these cases also saw a significant increase, climbing from 2,290 to 2,853.Traffickers are increasingly using sophisticated methods and multiple routes to transport narcotics into the city, a senior police officer said. “They procure drugs from abroad, like cocaine by air, and also deal in locally sourced substances, such as marijuana and opium,” the officer said. Drugs are trafficked across international borders by concealing them within goods, eventually entering India through states like Bihar and West Bengal before reaching other parts of the country. “To smuggle drugs into the capital, traffickers often create special cavities under vehicles to hide the narcotics,” the officer added.Data from law enforcement agencies show a mixed drug-recovery pattern in Delhi last year. Seizure of charas fell from 77.9 kg in 2024 to 70.1 kg in 2025 and smack and heroin from 83.2 kg to 76.8 kg.In contrast, opium recoveries surged sharply, rising from 104.8 kg to 326.8 kg, thereby more than tripling in a year. Ganja seizures also increased, climbing from 4,942.5 kg o 5,480.4 kg, reflecting sustained enforcement action against cannabis trafficking. The officer added that drugs are often adulterated with chemicals to increase their weight, enabling traffickers to sell them at much higher prices. “For example, a cultivator may sell opium to a dealer for Rs 50,000 to Rs 2 lakh per kilogram. The dealer then mixes the chemicals and sells it at an even higher rate. By the time it reaches sub-dealers, additional chemicals are added, which not only increase the weight but also substantially inflate the market value,” he said.Devesh Chandra Srivastava, special commissioner of police (crime & perception management and media cell), said cops intensified action against narcotics traffickers through multiple legal and enforcement measures.He said authorities are focusing on attaching properties of drug traffickers identified as proceeds of crime, while also initiating strict legal action by booking habitual offenders under Prevention of Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA). In addition, police are externing traffickers in several cases to prevent them from operating within the city and to disrupt narcotics networks. Another officer said that authorities are also focusing on dismantling the financial backbone of the drug trade, as money generated through trafficking is often used to fund other illegal activities. Under Section 68 of NDPS Act, properties acquired through illegal means can be attached and confiscated, effectively cutting off the financial lifeline of traffickers.
