Meeting of BRICS anti-drug agencies meeting begins in Guwahati
India hosted the BRICS Heads of Anti-Drug Agencies Meeting in Guwahati, Assam, on 6-7 July 2026, bringing together senior drug-control officials from BRICS member countries.
Discussions focused on operational cooperation against drug trafficking, including synthetic drugs and precursor chemical diversion, darknet markets, cryptocurrency-based transactions, and maritime trafficking routes.
A proposal was made to set up a dedicated BRICS Virtual Working Group for regular intelligence sharing, trend analysis, and coordinated law-enforcement action among member agencies.
The meeting concluded with the adoption of a Joint Declaration on strengthening institutional continuity and cooperation among BRICS anti-drug agencies.
The meeting was held under India's ongoing BRICS chairmanship for 2026.
BRICS — Origin, Expansion, and India's 2026 Chairmanship
BRICS began as an informal grouping of Brazil, Russia, India, and China (BRIC), first conceptualised in a 2001 Goldman Sachs report and formalised as a grouping in 2009; South Africa joined in 2010, making it BRICS. In 2024, the bloc expanded to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the UAE (Saudi Arabia was invited but has not formally joined), taking membership to ten countries. India assumed the rotating BRICS chairmanship on 1 January 2026 — its fourth term as chair after 2012, 2016, and 2021 — and is scheduled to host the 18th BRICS Summit later in 2026.
Key Details
- First BRIC summit: Yekaterinburg, Russia, 2009; South Africa admitted 2010 (making it BRICS)
- 2024 expansion added Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, UAE — bloc now has 10 member states
- India holds the 2026 chairmanship (4th time), following Brazil's 2025 chairmanship
- BRICS operates by consensus; it has no binding treaty-based secretariat like the UN or WTO
The anti-drug agencies' meeting is one of the sectoral ministerial/working-group meetings India is organising as part of its year-long BRICS chairmanship agenda, alongside summits and other thematic dialogues.
Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the NDPS Act, 1985
India's Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) is the nodal central agency for drug law enforcement, established on 17 March 1986 under Section 4(3) of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985 (in force from 14 November 1985). The NCB, functioning under the Ministry of Home Affairs, coordinates actions among central ministries, state governments, and international counterparts to enforce the NDPS Act, the Customs Act 1962, and the Drugs and Cosmetics Act 1940 in relation to narcotics control.
Key Details
- NDPS Act, 1985 — India's principal law criminalising production, possession, sale, and trafficking of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances; provides for stringent bail conditions and minimum sentencing for commercial-quantity offences
- NCB constituted under Section 4(3) of the NDPS Act as the "Central Authority" for drug law enforcement coordination
- NCB works with international bodies such as INTERPOL and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) on cross-border trafficking
- India is a party to the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, the 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances, and the 1988 UN Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs
The NCB represented India at the Guwahati meeting and proposed the BRICS Virtual Working Group, extending its domestic coordinating mandate under the NDPS Act into a multilateral, BRICS-wide intelligence-sharing mechanism.
Emerging Drug Trafficking Modes — Darknet, Synthetic Drugs, and Maritime Routes
Modern narcotics enforcement increasingly targets non-traditional trafficking channels distinct from conventional cultivation-based trafficking (e.g., opium from the Golden Triangle/Golden Crescent). Synthetic drugs (such as methamphetamine and precursor chemicals) can be manufactured without agricultural cultivation, making detection harder, while darknet marketplaces and cryptocurrency payments enable anonymised, borderless transactions, and maritime routes are exploited to move bulk consignments via international shipping lanes.
Key Details
- "Golden Triangle" (Myanmar-Thailand-Laos) and "Golden Crescent" (Afghanistan-Pakistan-Iran) are the traditional source regions for opiates relevant to India's northeastern and northwestern borders
- Synthetic drugs and New Psychoactive Substances (NPS) are a growing enforcement challenge as they bypass traditional crop-based interdiction
- India has intercepted large maritime narcotics consignments off its western coast in recent years, prompting closer coordination between the Indian Coast Guard, Navy, and NCB
- Precursor chemical diversion (chemicals with legitimate industrial use but usable in drug synthesis) is regulated under NDPS Act provisions and international precursor-control frameworks
These non-traditional trafficking modes were explicitly flagged as the focus areas for BRICS cooperation, reflecting the shift in enforcement priorities from crop-based interdiction to intelligence-driven, technology-enabled tracking.
- Meeting dates and venue: 6-7 July 2026, Guwahati, Assam
- BRICS founded: 2009 (as BRIC); South Africa added 2010; expanded to 10 members in 2024 (Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, UAE)
- India's BRICS chairmanship: 2026 — 4th term (previously 2012, 2016, 2021)
- NCB established: 17 March 1986, under Section 4(3) of the NDPS Act, 1985
- NDPS Act, 1985 in force from: 14 November 1985
- Outcome: Joint Declaration adopted; proposal floated for a BRICS Virtual Working Group on drug intelligence sharing