Shah Sets 2029 Deadline to End Drug Trade, Urges Financial Crackdown
Amit Shah says India's drug trade must be uprooted by end-2029, with enforcement focused on breaking trafficking chains and cartel finances.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah has set a target of uprooting the drug trade from the country by the end of 2029, calling on enforcement agencies to dismantle trafficking networks in their entirety rather than pursue isolated cases.
Addressing a national conference, Shah said the focus of anti-drug operations must shift to breaking complete trafficking chains. He pointed to financial investigations as a central tool, urging agencies to trace the money that moves through drug networks and to identify the digital links that connect traffickers.
A key element of the approach, he said, is targeting the profits generated by drug cartels — an effort aimed at weakening the economic base that sustains the trade.
The direction comes as agencies are expected to sharpen their methods, combining financial probes with digital tracing to map how trafficking operations are organised and funded. Shah's remarks place the emphasis on disrupting the structures behind the trade, with a defined timeline for the goal.