Sri Vijay Puram, May 5: On Sunday, May 4, officers from the North and Middle Andaman District Police mounted a covert operation deep within the jungles of Cutbert Bay, an area so remote it is accessible only by boat and on foot. Guided by precise intelligence and aided by local fishermen, the police team landed at Safed Balu point at approximately 10:30 a.m., beginning their trek through thick tropical undergrowth.
After hours of combing the forest floor, they discovered a white plastic sack buried beneath layers of vegetation. Inside, they found 20 sealed packets labeled “Gyanyinwang Refined Chinese Tea” – each containing a crystalline white substance. Field tests confirmed it was methamphetamine, a powerful and illicit synthetic drug banned under India’s Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. The total haul weighed nearly 21 kilograms, making it one of the largest meth seizures in the archipelago’s recent history.
While no suspects were apprehended at the site, investigators believe the cache was intended either for pickup by sea or storage as part of a larger trafficking operation. The strategic location, the nature of concealment, and the drug’s foreign level packaging all point toward a larger, more organized network operating across borders.
This incident marks a troubling escalation in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands’ evolving role in the regional drug economy. Geographically nestled between the Southeast Asian “Golden Triangle” and mainland India, the islands occupy a strategic position in the Bay of Bengal. With its extensive coastline, remote islets, and proximity to key maritime routes, the archipelago is increasingly being used as a waypoint for narcotics flowing from Myanmar and Thailand toward India and beyond.
Over the past five years, there has been a significant uptick in drug-related incidents in the islands, particularly involving synthetic substances like methamphetamine and MDMA, drugs previously uncommon in this region. In 2020, a meth lab was discovered operating out of a rented house in Sri Vijaya Puram. That same year, Indian Navy and Coast Guard units intercepted fishing vessels suspected of carrying party drugs and ketamine from offshore locations. In 2022, over a dozen kilos of narcotics were seized in coordinated raids across Diglipur, Rangat, and South Andaman.
Law enforcement officials say this trend represents a dangerous pivot from traditional narcotics like cannabis or opium to high-value synthetic drugs, often manufactured in makeshift labs or imported via maritime routes. “We are not just dealing with local peddlers anymore,” said an officer from the Andaman Police’s. “These are well-funded, transnational networks that use the islands’ isolation and geography to their advantage.”
Compounding the threat is a rise in local drug use, particularly among vulnerable and unemployed youth. Several NGOs based in Sri Vijaya Puram and nearby areas have reported increased cases of addiction and substance dependency. Many of those entering rehabilitation today first came into contact with narcotics through fishing or transport work – jobs that exposed them to the very maritime corridors now under scrutiny.
Public health experts warn that the combination of rising availability, weak monitoring infrastructure, and minimal addiction support services could quickly spiral into a wider crisis. “There is no large-scale rehabilitation framework in place in the islands,” noted one Counselor working with a Sri Vijaya Puram – based recovery center. “If this trend continues, we are not just facing a trafficking problem, we are facing a public health emergency.”
The Andaman Police has, in recent months, stepped up inter-agency cooperation, established more marine surveillance units, and sought support from national bodies like the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and Indian Coast Guard. But authorities admit the archipelago’s complex topography, comprising over 500 islands, many uninhabited, makes comprehensive oversight an immense challenge.
Back in Cutbert Bay, the forest that once stood silent witness to the rhythms of nature now bears the scars of a new reality. A jungle once known for its biodiversity is now a battleground in a hidden war, where traffickers exploit isolation as a shield and methamphetamine arrives disguised as tea.
The recent case has been registered under Section 22(c) of the NDPS Act, and a multi-agency probe is underway to trace the origins of the cache and its intended destination. Investigators suspect links to international smuggling syndicates operating along the Bay of Bengal’s less-monitored shipping lanes.
For the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, the message is stark: they are no longer peripheral to the drug trade. They are now on the map – and very much in the crosshairs.
