US Intel Report Puts India In Same League As China For Drug Trafficking Links

Photo: DEA

India-West News Desk

NEW DELHI – India has now been placed on the same level as China in supplying precursor chemicals used by drug cartels to manufacture fentanyl, according to the 2025 Annual Threat Assessment (ATA) of the U.S. Intelligence Community.

The report, released by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), currently led by Tulsi Gabbard, highlights growing concerns about India’s role in the global drug trade—a shift from last year’s assessment, where India was listed as a lesser source compared to China.

The report underscores the threat posed by terrorist and transnational criminal organizations to U.S. citizens. “Cartels are largely responsible for the more than 52,000 U.S. deaths from synthetic opioids in the 12 months ending in October 2024 and helped facilitate the nearly three million illegal migrant arrivals in 2024, straining resources and putting U.S. communities at risk,” it states.

A significant focus is placed on the role of state-backed actors in facilitating these threats. “A range of cyber and intelligence actors are targeting our wealth, critical infrastructure, telecom, and media,” the report warns. “Non-state groups are often enabled, both directly and indirectly, by state actors, such as China and India, as sources of precursors and equipment for drug traffickers.”

China remains the primary source of illicit fentanyl precursor chemicals and pill-pressing equipment, but India is now named alongside it. The report explains how Mexico-based chemical brokers bypass international controls by mislabeling shipments and purchasing unregulated dual-use chemicals.

The report also accuses Moscow of working to undermine Western-led institutions like the United Nations, while leveraging non-Western alliances such as the BRICS group—comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa—to push policies like de-dollarization.

Fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid approved by the FDA for pain relief and anesthesia, remains a key concern for the U.S. government. Cracking down on opioid trafficking has been a political priority under the Trump administration.