AHMEDABAD: Gujarat enforcement agencies seized a staggering 63.7 tonnes of opium-based and cannabis-based drugs in just three years between 2022 and 2024, according to NCRB data tabled in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.
The haul comprised nearly 29,927 kg of opium-based drugs and 33,773 kg of cannabis-based drugs, underlining the sheer scale of narcotics seizures in the state.
The three-year haul also included cocaine, psychotropic substances and other drugs.
While the quantity of major bulk drugs declined by 2024, Gujarat still recorded thousands of kilograms of seizures in a single year.
The enforcement agencies recovered 12,838.989 kg of opium-based drugs and 14,899.257 kg of cannabis-based drugs in 2022 alone.
The haul remained enormous in 2023, when Gujarat recorded seizures of 10,385.516 kg of opium-based drugs and 12,431.066 kg of cannabis-based drugs.
Even in 2024, when the seizure quantities dropped sharply, agencies still recovered 6,702.765 kg of opium-based drugs and 6,442.970 kg of cannabis-based drugs.
In 2022, Gujarat's combined seizure of opium-based and cannabis-based drugs stood at 27,738.246 kg. The same year, agencies also seized 39.100 kg of cocaine, 1,392.730 kg of psychotropic substances and 60.110 kg of other drugs.
In 2023, Gujarat agencies seized 22,816.582 kg of opium-based and cannabis-based drugs combined comprising 10,385.516 kg of opium-based drugs and 12,431.066 kg of cannabis-based drugs. Cocaine seizures more than doubled from 39.100 kg in 2022 to 82.866 kg in 2023, while the "Other Drugs" category accounted for another 109.798 kg
By 2024, the combined opium-and-cannabis haul stood at 13,145.735 kg. But the figure still means that agencies seized more than 13,000 kg in these two categories in a single year.
Cocaine appeared in the seizure profile too
Gujarat's narcotics seizure profile was not restricted to traditional drugs. The state recorded 39.100 kg of cocaine seizures in 2022, followed by 82.866 kg in 2023. In 2024, the recorded cocaine seizure was 0.169 kg. The 2023 figure is particularly notable because it represented a more than double increase over 2022.
Gujarat also recorded 1,392.730 kg of psychotropic substances in 2022, although the corresponding 2023 and 2024 tables use a different presentation of the categories and units, making a direct three-year aggregation inappropriate without further reconciliation.
The numbers underline the intensity of drug enforcement in Gujarat, but they also carry an important caveat.
The data represent drugs seized under the NDPS Act, not the total quantity trafficked through or consumed in Gujarat. Therefore, the figures cannot by themselves establish how much narcotics actually entered the state's illegal market or how much trafficking increased or declined.
But they do establish the scale of drugs intercepted by enforcement agencies.
And on that count, Gujarat's three-year record is striking: 63,700 kg of opium-based and cannabis-based drugs alone were seized between 2022 and 2024.
Centre steps up coordinated crackdown
The seizure data come as the Union government strengthens its anti-narcotics architecture. The Ministry of Home Affairs said the Vision Document on Narcotics Control 2026-2029, released on June 26, 2026, focuses on enforcement and intelligence operations, precursor and synthetic-drug control, demand and harm reduction, and capacity building and coordination.
A four-tier Narco-Coordination Centre mechanism has also been established to improve coordination between central and state agencies. State-level NCORD meetings are chaired by chief secretaries, while district-level meetings are headed by district magistrates.
The government has further established dedicated Anti-Narcotics Task Forces in every State and Union Territory.
The Centre also said enforcement agencies invoked detention orders against 810 habitual drug offenders in 2025 and another 427 up to June 2026 under the PITNDPS Act framework.