UN blames India for rising drug abuse in neighbouring countries

The United Nations narcotics control division, International Narcotics Control Board (INCB), has blamed India for the rising drug abuse in its neighbourhood, particularly in Bangladesh and Bhutan.

Worse, the UN agency says India is the primary source of injectible drugs such as pethidine and morphine widely abused in these countries. In fact, more and more addicts in these countries are shifting to injectible narcotics abuse.

"The widespread abuse of pharmaceutical preparations containing narcotic drugs such as codeine is an ongoing problem in Bangladesh. Such preparations are smuggled into that country from India," the report says.

The INCB report also gives details of seizure made in these countries. In 2008, drug enforcement agencies in Bangladesh seized 53,239 bottles containing codeine-based syrup and 226 ampoules containing pethidine and morphine. The same year, agencies seized 554 tablets containing codeine. But this was far less than the huge seizure of 70,000 tablets made in 2007.

A record seizure of Buprenorphine, a widely abused injectible drug, of 14,782 ampoules, was made by law enforcement authorities in that country in 2008. These too were smuggled into Bangladesh from India.

Pharmaceutical preparations containing benzodiazepines are among the drugs most widely abused in Bhutan. More than 1,060 tablets containing chlordiazepoxide and 240 strips of tablets containing nitrazepam were seized in 2007 in Bhutan and the trend continued in 2008. The suspected origin of the seized drugs was India, according to the INCB report.

Besides smuggling drugs to neighbouring countries, the report says India has become one of the main sources of drugs sold through illegal internet pharmacies. Orders placed with such pharmacies are often dispatched to buyers in other countries through courier or postal services.

The UN agency asked India to increase its vigilance in detecting the misuse of courier and postal services to smuggle controlled substances out of the country. It said the majority of clandestine shipments of controlled substances detected in India were destined for Australia and countries in North America and Europe.