NEW DELHI: India's western coastline along Gujarat and Maharashtra has emerged as a growing security concern as a key maritime route for the smuggling of illegal arms from Pakistan, according to an official assessment report submitted to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
The report, based on inputs from multiple security agencies, states that the South Asian arms trafficking network reaches India through both land and sea. While one branch enters through the Punjab and Rajasthan borders, another increasingly uses the Gujarat and Maharashtra coastlines. According to the Narcotics Control Bureau's (NCB) Annual Report 2025, traffickers use fishing vessels and small coastal craft to evade conventional maritime surveillance, often concealing illicit consignments within legitimate fishing activity. Security agencies have increased vigilance along the maritime frontier as traffickers continue to adapt their routes and methods.
The report also notes that India has become a significant transit and destination point for global arms and drug trafficking networks due to its location between major narcotics-producing regions. It highlights that trafficking routes constantly shift in response to law enforcement action and geopolitical developments.
The Afghanistan-Pakistan-Iran (Golden Crescent) corridor remains a major source of opiates, while Myanmar's Golden Triangle continues to supply heroin and methamphetamine. For India, the Manipur corridor along National Highway 102 remains the primary land entry point for heroin and methamphetamine from Myanmar, while the Bay of Bengal is emerging as an important maritime trafficking route.
The report further states that geopolitical developments, including the Taliban's return to power in Afghanistan and political changes in Syria, are reshaping global drug trafficking networks and creating new trafficking routes. (ANI)
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