Government: North-east cartels shifting towards synthetic drugs

According to the government, traffickers were exploiting porous stretches of the Indo-Myanmar border, forest routes and hilly terrainNEW DELHI: Drug syndicates active in the northeast are shifting towards synthetic drugs and increasingly using social media and encrypted communication apps to coordinate cross-border smuggling, government informed Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.In a written reply, junior home minister Nityanand Rai said there was a "marked increase in the trafficking of methamphetamine from Myanmar, particularly through Manipur, Mizoram and Nagaland", reflecting a shift towards synthetic drugs, even as heroin trafficking continued."Pattern of narcotics trafficking through northeast has undergone significant changes" in the type of drugs, routes and modus operandi, he said.According to the reply, traffickeRajya Sabha were exploiting porous stretches of the Indo-Myanmar border, forest routes and hilly terrain"Narcotics are concealed in legitimate cargo, passenger vehicles and goods carrieRajya Sabha, while courier services, parcel networks, social media platforms and encrypted communication apps are increasingly being used," Rai said.He added that Moreh-Tamu border remained a key transit point for heroin and methamphetamine from Myanmar.