Drugs Worth Rs 2,919 Crore Sezied in Five Years: Assam CM

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday said the state has made major gains in its fight against drugs over the past five years, with security forces seizing narcotics worth nearly Rs 2,919 crore since 2021.

Sharing details of the crackdown, the Chief Minister said the scale of seizures in recent years is far higher than in earlier periods. He noted that the value of drugs recovered since 2021 is more than seven times what was seized between 2011 and 2015, and almost four times higher than recoveries made between 2016 and 2020.

The anti-drug drive, often described by the government as a “war against banned drugs and psychotropic substances,” has become one of the most visible law enforcement campaigns in the state.

"More than 23,000 arrests have been made in drug-related cases in the last five years, since 2021, which is nearly four times the total number of arrests from 2011-2021 (about 6000 arrests). Drugs worth more than Rs 2919 crore have been recovered in the last five years, which is more than 7 times what was done from 2011-2015 (about Rs 400 crore), and almost four times the recoveries made between 2016-2020 (about Rs 720 crore)," CM Sarma said.
According to official figures, seizures have remained consistently high in recent years. Drugs worth over Rs 700 crore were seized in 2023 and 2022, while recoveries crossed Rs 650 crore in both 2024 and 2025. In 2021, the value of seized drugs stood at nearly Rs 384 crore.

In 2025 alone, security forces recovered large quantities of narcotics, including heroin, ganja, opium, morphine, cough syrup bottles and lakhs of psychotropic tablets. The government also targeted illegal cultivation, destroying more than 600 bighas of opium fields in 2022 to weaken the supply network at its source.

The Chief Minister said these efforts have gone hand in hand with a broader improvement in law and order. In 2025, just over 3,000 NDPS cases were registered, and more than 4,400 people were arrested. During the same period, the overall crime rate per lakh population dropped significantly compared to 2021.

The Chief Minister also referred to the state’s ongoing drive against encroachment, stating that around 1.45 lakh bighas of land have been recovered so far. A large portion of this land falls under wildlife sanctuaries, national parks and reserved forests, while the rest includes government land and village grazing reserves.

Also Read: Massive Drug Busts: Assam Police Recover Drugs Worth Rs 3 Crore