Drug use and related crimes on the rise

The body of 25-year-old Arjun Das from Amarabati in Janaki-9, Kailali, was discovered in a local community forest last year. Police investigation showed that he was murdered following a dispute among drug users. In another incident, Anshu Sada of Siraha was abducted and held for ransom by his own friends in October last year. The 18-year-old was later found dead in a hotel room in Biratnagar. His family had failed to pay Rs 10,000 to the kidnappers, who reportedly wanted the money to feed their drug habit. The above two cases represent the larger picture of drug-related crimes and tragedies in Nepal. A study commissioned by the Ministry of Home Affairs in 2019 revealed that 130,425 youths, including 8,732 women, were using drugs. Police bulletins report cases related to drug crimes,  be it of possession, smuggling or illegal use, every day.

The situation is alarming, says Poshraj Pokharel, spokesperson for Nepal Police. “Drug use and trade is flourishing, particularly in the Tarai districts that share open border with India.”

Records at the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) of Nepal Police show that 15,606 cases of drug smuggling and transactions have been registered across the country between the fiscal year 2018/19 and January of this year, in which 23,779 people, including 772 Indian nationals and over 70 other foreign nationals, were arrested. Other police data show that law enforcement agencies seized 335 kilograms of marijuana, 600 kilograms of hashish, 3 kilograms of heroin, 40 kilograms of opium, and 15 kilograms of cocaine in the fiscal year 2018/19. In the fiscal year 2019/20, police confiscated 8,883 kilograms of marijuana, 490 kilograms of hashish, two kilograms of heroin, and 256 kilograms of opium. Police arrested 5,790 people on charges of drug use and trade in the fiscal year 2020/21. Among those arrested, 3,976 are in the 19-35 age group. Data from the Drugs Control Section of the Ministry of Home Affairs suggest that 21 percent of the prisoners across the country were convicted in drug-related crimes, and about 50 percent of them are in the 14-21 age group. Where do drugs come from? Police say about 80 percent of hard drugs such as cocaine and heroin are trafficked from India. They are also smuggled in from countries like Benin, Guinea, Colombia, Peru, Bolivia, Brazil, and Ethiopia. Police suspect international drug cartels are mostly using Nepal as a transit destination. They say many migrant workers are being used as mules to shift the drugs between countries. Recently, Doha and Dubai airports have become transit hubs for drugs entering Nepal. Police believe international drug smugglers are enticing returning migrant workers to transport drugs to Nepal by offering them money. Economic temptation is driving many people to become drug couriers, resulting in arrests and punishments that can impact their families. Large quantities of drugs worth millions of rupees are seized in Nepal every year, further underscoring the magnitude of the problem. Chakraraj Joshi, spokesperson for the NCB, says cocaine is the most common and expensive drug that is being smuggled into or via Nepal. “But we haven’t found any cocaine users in Nepal yet,” he says, supporting the police suspicion that most of these hard drugs are headed to other destinations. Drugs and illegal substances that are commonly in use in Nepal are marijuana, hashish, brown sugar, heroin, and opium. Over 6,000 in rehab centers According to Bishwamitra Kuikel, the head of the Drugs Control Section at the Ministry of Home Affairs, around 6,000 youths are undergoing treatment in 249 rehabilitation centers throughout the country. “Drug addiction can have a crippling effect on not just the lives of the users, but also on their families, and on society and the country.” Drug addiction is also a significant factor in the increase of criminal activities in the country. Pokharel, the Nepal Police spokesperson, says approximately 70 percent of criminal cases in the country are in some ways related to drugs. “As drug use can affect mental awareness and mood, and distort the thinking ability, its users have no compunction about committing crimes in order to get their fix. They’ll do anything out of desperation,” he adds. Drug users commit a range of crimes, from theft, fraud and robbery to murder.  With over 35 million drug users worldwide, a significant proportion of them are young people and teenagers, making them susceptible to committing crimes. As drug use increases, so does the rate of criminal activities in Nepal. According to Bikas Raj Khanal, head of the NCB, the lack of awareness and proper parenting is causing the youth to become drug users. “Easy availability of drugs due to the open border and peer pressure from friends are also contributing factors,” he says. Symptoms of addiction Drug use can lead to significant changes in behavior, including a preference for solitude, a lack of appetite, telling lies, and displaying unnatural behavior. Other symptoms of addiction can include decreased interest in school, not communicating with family, asking for money frequently, getting angry more often, disappearing for periods of time, and spending more time with friends who use drugs. The use of drugs can also have physical, mental, and social effects on an individual. Physically, drug users are at risk for various diseases, such as HIV/AIDS, hepatitis, and other sexually transmitted infections, as well as weight loss and loss of appetite. Overdose is also a serious risk, which can lead to death. Mentally, drug users may experience monotony, frustration, depression, loss of cognitive ability, memory loss, and negative emotions. Socially, drug addiction can create problems within families, relationships, and communities. Youths are the target There are over 35m drug users worldwide, and a significant proportion of them are young people and teenagers. A 2019 survey shows that the majority of drug users, around 69.5 percent, were between the age group of 20-29 years. The Drugs Control Section of the Ministry of Home Affairs states that the use of both natural and medicinal narcotics is spreading in Nepal. Natural drugs are mainly marijuana, hashish, hemp, and opium, while medicinal narcotics include prescribed medicines like nitrosan, nitravet, proxyvon, norphin, codeine, corex, phensedyl, and phencodin. Some medicines, when taken without a doctor's advice, can become addictive and harmful.