New Delhi, April 15 (UNI) Underscoring the growing use of drug trafficking proceeds to fund terrorism, aid armed groups, and instigate political violence in the South Asia region, the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) said on Monday that narco-terrorism appears to be an increasing problem in the region.
“Seizures of heroin in South Asia have seen an overall increase in the past decade,” it said adding that India accounted for the largest share (two-thirds) of the heroin seized in South Asia in the period 2017–2021, followed by Sri Lanka, at 23 per cent, and Bangladesh, at 7 per cent.
The average annual seizures of heroin in South Asia along the southern route have increased to the extent that the total quantities of heroin and morphine originating in Afghanistan that are seized along that route are now larger than those seized along the northern route, the INCB report said.