CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu has emerged as an important transit point for international drug syndicates trafficking the banned narcotic methamphetamine or its precursor pseudoephedrine to Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Australia, where there is high demand, according to probes by Indian investigators.
Official data from the Narcotics Control Bureau’s (NCB) Chennai zone shows the agency’s seizures of meth bound for Sri Lanka jumped from 12kg in 2021 to 66kg in 2022 and 81kg in 2023, indicating a hike in transnational trade.
In 2024 alone, the NCB’s and Directorate of Revenue Intelligence’s (DRI) Chennai zones have seized 57kg of the drug with a street value of Rs 360 crore in just four cases. In all four, the narcotic was sourced from Myanmar and en route to Sri Lanka. The latest seizure of 10kg was made by the DRI last week, leading to the arrest of six and busting of an international syndicate.
Trafficking of meth is a highly lucrative business, said officials. It costs around Rs 50,000-1,00,000 per kg in Manipur, around Rs 7 lakh in Chennai and has a street price several times that in Sri Lanka and Malaysia. NCB pegs its value at Rs 10 crore per kg, while DRI says it’s Rs 5 crore.
Investigations show that the drug is sourced from Myanmar — part of the notorious Golden Triangle along with Thailand and Laos — and smuggled across the border to Manipur and sent to Tamil Nadu through human carriers on trains.
Cops say drug syndicates employ SL Tamils in TN cities & refugee camps
It is then transported to Rameswaram, Thoothukudi or Nagapattinam through bus, train or car in special, concealed compartments. The drug is then sent to Sri Lanka across the porous maritime border via mid-sea transfers using fisher boats, officials added.
Based on arrests made in these cases, officials stated that syndicates employ a number of Sri Lankan Tamils living in TN’s cities and refugee camps. Tamils as well as locals of Manipur are also involved in the trafficking, they noted, adding that this particular trade has picked up in the last five years.
Citing specific examples, an NCB official said that an accused arrested in a recent case was a vegetable trader based in Koyambedu, Chennai, with trade links to Sri Lanka. Similarly, in the DRI seizure last week, one of the accused was a Tamil who had done his schooling in Manipur before relocating to TN, sources said.
Investigators have identified the town Moreh in Manipur, located a few kilometres away from the India-Myanmar border, as an important location as it has a Tamil community. In 2023, NCB arrested three Tamils from Imphal in a 4kg meth seizure in TN which later led to a 11kg seizure in Manipur, the biggest by the agency that year.
After that case, the agency has been investigating links between some Moreh Tamils and members of a syndicate in Red Hills in Chennai, an official said. Officials said Drug syndicates use SL Tamils in this trade as they are familiar with terrain and aid in coordinating mid-sea transfers and hawala cash payments.
Manipur locals help syndicates in navigating the complex trade routes along India’s northeastern border. Interestingly, officials insisted that consumption of meth in TN is low as those preferring high-end drugs go for cocaine or LSD.
Watch out for Part 2 in these columns tomorrow
Seizure of meth packaged in ‘Yellow tea’ packets with Chinese markings in TN indicates links to global syndicates in Southeast Asia, Australia; meth is now the second most popular drug in Sri Lanka.