Indian heroin is going to US and Bangladesh now
Low grade heroin produced by diluting pure uncut heroin is routed to domestic market, high grade heroin is routed to foreign countries including Canada.
India is not only producing heroin for its domestic supply but also for both neighbouring and faraway countries like Bangladesh and the United States, according to a UN report. "Heroin originating in India also reaches other countries in South Asia such as Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, although the flow to Sri Lanka has reportedly declined, and both those countries have long indicated South-West Asia as being among the sources for heroin reaching their territory," the UN World Drug Report 2014 said.
The report said heroin prices in India are cheapest in the region. While low grade heroin produced by diluting pure uncut heroin is routed to domestic market, high grade heroin is routed to foreign countries including Canada.
With almost 18 per cent of the world's population in 15-64 age bracket, India is exposed to illicit opiates originating in South-East and South-West Asia.
Lucrative markets
The UN report said heroin and brown sugar is produced in India by misusing licenced opium crop. "...Indian authorities also indicate illicit cultivation of opium poppy in some pockets within India, suspected diversion of opium from licit cultivation and manufacture of "brown sugar" "Thus, it appears that consumer market in India is mainly supplied heroin of domestic origin, quite plausibly derived from a minor proportion of licitly produced opium diverted into the illicit market," the report said.
Heroin from South West Asia reaches India across India-Pakistan border and tends to be trafficked onward to destinations such as Europe, the US and South East Asia. "The destinations are presumably more lucrative markets than India, given the relatively low price of heroin in India ($8.6 to $13 per gram compared with a range of $100 to $400 per gram of heroin from South West Asia in the US and an average price, taken from 17 countries in Western and Central Europe and weighted by population, of $72).
"The share of heroin of South-West Asian origin as a proportion of total heroin seizures in India in 2011 was assessed at 45 per cent, while most of the remainder (54 per cent) originated in India itself," the report said. Canada, which continues to identify Pakistan and India as being among the prominent countries of provenance for heroin reaching its market, mentioned an increase in the number of heroin seizures from countries on commercial airlines in the latter part of 2012 and in early 2013.
"India and the US both indicated that there was a flow of heroin from India to the US; it is plausible that the flow of heroin reaching North America from India, while probably still small in relation to the size of the North America consumer market, is of South-West Asian origin," it said.
Heroin worth Rs 20 crore seized
~Manjeet Sehgal in Chandigarh
Border Security Force (BSF) on Wednesday seized four kg heroin besides 250 gm opium and counterfeit currency in Amritsar, BSF officials said. The value of the seized heroin has been estimated around Rs 20 crore in the international market.
"The four packets of heroin, 250 gm opium and counterfeit currency valued Rs 7,83,000 were seized from a border outpost Pulmoran in the Amritsar sector," Deputy Inspector General, Punjab Frontier, BSF, RPS Jaswal said.
Jaswal said the BSF troops were on high alert as inputs were received regarding smuggling attempt in the Pulmoran area. He said the troops observed some suspicious movement and challenged the miscreants.
This is the second seizure of heroin made in Punjab in the last two days.
On Tuesday, the State Special Operations Cell of Punjab police seized five kg heroin from the possession of a local smuggler valued at Rs 25 crore in the international market.