In a joint operation in February, the Indian Navy and the Narcotic Control Bureau (NCB) officials seized 234 kg of crystal methamphetamine from a fishing boat off Gujarat. Top enforcement officials said the Afghanistan origins of the drug indicated that it was processed from natural ephedrine extracted from the Ephedra plant that grows wild in the country’s highlands.
Investigators said South Asian and Nigerian drug cartels had long dominated the illicit meth trade. The syndicates used pseudoephedrine, a decongestant found in cough and cold medication, to manufacture the potent narcotic.
However, sourcing the chemical in trade quantities from over-the-counter medicines had rendered meth an expensive drug. In contrast, the Ephedra plant, harvested in at least eight provinces in Afghanistan, emerged as a cheaper option and catalysed illegal meth production. Narcotic enforcers said Ephedra plant-based meth manufacture was easy, fast and cheap.
