For every 305 grams of cocaine seized nationwide, Telangana seized just 1 gram

Hyderabad: For every gram of cocaine seized in Telangana over the past six years, law enforcement agencies elsewhere in India seized about 305 grams, according to data placed in Parliament earlier this year.

The numbers, sourced from the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and tabled in the Lok Sabha by Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai on February 3, show that Telangana accounts for just 0.33 per cent of the country’s cocaine seizures between 2020 and November 2025.

Recent arrest of MP and former MLA regarding narcotics

The figures have gained fresh relevance after police recently raided a suspected drug party at a farmhouse in Moinabad near Hyderabad, where several people, including a Member of Parliament and a former MLA, were detained and tested for narcotics.

The incident has drawn attention to the state’s drug landscape and prompted questions about how cocaine figures in Telangana’s narcotics profile.

8.51 kg in six years

According to the reply in the Parliament, Telangana’s agencies seized a total of 8.51 kilograms of cocaine between 2020 and November 2025. During the same period, the total quantity seized across India stood at about 2,597 kilograms, placing Telangana’s share at a fraction of the national total.

The year-wise data shows relatively small quantities in the state:

2020: 0.02 kg

2021: 0.22 kg

2022: 5 kg

2023: 1 kg

2024: 1 kg

2025 (till November): 1.27 kg

The spike in 2022, when five kilograms were seized in a single year, accounts for more than half of the entire six-year total.

Across the country, cocaine seizures were far higher and showed a dramatic surge in some years.

Nationally, seizures rose from 364 kg in 2021 to 1,483 kg in 2024, a jump driven largely by major interceptions in cities such as Delhi and coastal states that act as entry points for international drug trafficking.

Geography shapes the numbers

Drug enforcement officials say the pattern reflects geography as much as policing. Unlike states with coastlines or major ports, Telangana is landlocked, which reduces the likelihood of large consignments moving through the state.

Cocaine trafficking into India typically occurs through international airports and maritime routes, before shipments move toward large urban markets. States such as Maharashtra, Gujarat, Goa, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, all with major ports, have recorded significantly higher seizures over the years.

Even in years when Telangana recorded seizures, the quantities were relatively small compared with those of other states.

For instance, Maharashtra seized 89 kg of cocaine in 2022, while Telangana seized 5 kg the same year, according to the Lok Sabha data.

Cocaine remains a niche drug

The broader dataset also shows that cocaine represents a small portion of India’s narcotics seizures overall, which are dominated by cannabis and opium-based drugs.

For example, in 2024 alone, agencies across the country seized more than 5.4 lakh kilograms of cannabis-based drugs and over 5.2 lakh kilograms of opium-based substances, compared with 1,483 kg of cocaine.

Telangana reflects a similar pattern. Cannabis seizures in the state consistently run into tens of thousands of kilograms annually, with 41,428 kg seized in 2021, the highest in the six-year dataset.

This suggests that while cocaine occasionally surfaces in enforcement data, it remains far less prevalent than other narcotics in the state’s seizure profile.

The Moinabad trigger

The parliamentary data gained attention after the EAGLE (Elite Action Group for Drug Law Enforcement) team of Telangana Police raided a farmhouse in Moinabad in Hyderabad earlier this month, following information about a suspected drug party.

Police detained several people present at the gathering and conducted drug tests. Six out of 11 individuals tested positive for narcotics, including the farmhouse owner and a Member of Parliament.

Officials said an FIR has been registered and the investigation is underway to determine the source of the drugs and whether similar gatherings had been organised earlier.

While the raid has renewed debate over the presence of drugs in Hyderabad’s nightlife and party circuits, the Lok Sabha data suggests that large-scale cocaine trafficking is not a major feature of Telangana’s narcotics landscape, at least in terms of seizures recorded by enforcement agencies.

Tracking the networks

In its reply to Parliament, the Union government said the NCB regularly conducts joint operations with State and Central agencies to combat drug trafficking.

However, the ministry also noted that consolidated data on the number of trafficking networks or modules busted through such operations is not maintained separately. This means the available statistics primarily track the quantities of drugs seized rather than the scale of networks dismantled.

As investigations into the Moinabad farmhouse raid continue, the parliamentary figures offer a broader context: cocaine seizures in Telangana remain comparatively small, even as enforcement agencies across the country report rising interceptions in major transit hubs and metropolitan centres.