Jul 24, Kathmandu - The situation of drug use and trafficking in Koshi Province is alarming. Police statistics for the last three years show this.

Statistics show that 5,107 people were arrested in Koshi on charges of drug trafficking from fiscal year 2079 to 2081. Of these, 375 were women and 4,732 were men.

According to police records, 1,152 people were arrested in fiscal year 2079-80, 1,586 in fiscal year 2080-81, and 2,364 in fiscal year 2081-82. Most of them are users and dealers of marijuana and medical drugs.

During this three-year period, approximately 11 kg of brown sugar, 100 grams of hashish, 50 grams of opium, 45,000 kg of marijuana, and 3.634 million medical drugs (capsules, tablets, and syringes) were seized, according to the data.

Brown sugar, hashish and opium are being smuggled into Koshi from India, while illicitly produced marijuana from the hilly districts here is being smuggled to India. Police believe that drug traffickers are becoming more active in the border districts as the use of brown sugar (brown heroin) has increased with the ban on alcohol in Bihar.

Since Jhapa, Morang and Sunsari in Koshi Province are connected to the Indian state of Bihar, it seems that more vigilance is needed in the border areas of these districts to control drugs.