India

India and U.S. Officials Meet to Strengthen Counter‑Narcotics Cooperation

By HT Correspondent

On November 2 and 3, top officials from India’s Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the United States Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) met in New Delhi to review and enhance bilateral counter‑narcotics cooperation. The meeting occurred while Indian and U.S. drug‑law enforcement agencies were conducting joint crackdowns to dismantle members of the same cartel operating in both countries and across continents. The NCB delegation was led by Director General Anurag Garg, and the U.S. delegation was headed by ONDCP acting deputy director Debbie Seguin. In a statement, the NCB said the meeting, conducted under the India‑U.S. Drug Policy Framework, examined cooperation in combating illicit drug trafficking and identified priority areas for strengthening intelligence sharing, coordinated law‑enforcement action, precursor control, pharmaceutical supply‑chain integrity, and drug‑demand reduction. Garg outlined India’s three‑year roadmap, which includes network‑centric investigations, precursor control, financial investigations, prevention, and rehabilitation. The delegations discussed current drug‑trafficking trends and emerging threats, and welcomed joint and national initiatives such as Operation MedMax, Operation WIPE, and India’s Voluntary Code of Conduct to prevent diversion of precursor chemicals used to make synthetic drugs. The statements emphasized the importance of sustained institutional engagement, timely intelligence exchange, and coordinated action to address emerging narcotics threats and promote demand reduction, and both sides agreed to share best practices in targeted law‑enforcement topics. ONDCP director Sara Carter, in a separate statement, said that U.S.–India bilateral cooperation is vital to disrupting transnational drug‑trafficking networks and preventing the diversion of synthetic drugs and chemical precursors into global markets. She added that defeating a sophisticated multinational logistics enterprise requires a targeted strategy that partners across borders to secure the commercial supply chains they exploit.