Drug-related offences continue to rise despite the 'strict measures' taken by security agencies. Thirty percent of the inmates in Birgunj prison are serving sentences for drug-related crimes. Out of the 1,412 prisoners currently held, 512 are incarcerated for drug-related offences.

Of these, 18 are women. According to data from Birgunj Prison, drug-related crimes represent the highest number of inmates, followed by 268 prisoners convicted of homicide.

Additionally, there are 199 prisoners for rape, 70 for vehicular homicide, 62 for theft, 37 for abduction, and 31 for banking fraud. Other cases include 26 prisoners for attempted murder, 21 for counterfeit currency, 21 for robbery, 20 for human trafficking, and 4 for cheque fraud. Birgunj and the surrounding rural areas are major hubs for drug smuggling and transport in Nepal.

This border region, which handles the highest volume of imports and exports in the country, has long been notorious as a transit route for drug trafficking. Many individuals caught with banned substances such as Nurofen, Phenergan, and Diazepam—drugs legal in India but prohibited in Nepal—are often arrested at the Birgunj border.

These substances are classified as controlled drugs in Nepal. Those caught smuggling them often serve short prison sentences but are rarely deterred. Drug traffickers use the border to smuggle drugs into Nepal, transporting them to various districts and even as far as the capital, Kathmandu.

Every day, many addicts cross the border on foot from Birgunj to Raxaul, India, consume drugs, and return to Nepal. Some even bring back drugs to sell. Most of those arrested are young men aged between 18 and 24, many of whom come from outside the Parsa district.

These controlled substances, which are illegal in Nepal, are openly sold in medical shops in Raxaul, an Indian town near the border.

While cannabis farming in Parsa district is minimal, remote hill villages in neighbouring Makwanpur district continue to cultivate it. Dealers often smuggle cannabis through Parsa into India. Occasionally, cannabis is also found concealed in goods vehicles and fuel tankers returning to India from Nepal.

Vinay Kumar Srivastava, an information officer at Birgunj prison, said drug traffickers frequently use the Birgunj border, leading to daily arrests in Parsa due to the open border with India. Furthermore, since neighbouring Bara district lacks a prison, those arrested for drug-related and other offences in Bara are also sent to Birgunj prisons, contributing to the higher number of inmates.

Srivastava noted that most of those serving time for drug-related offences are young. “Nearly 60 percent of those imprisoned for drug-related cases are young adults,” he said. “This is a critical situation, as drug addiction is rapidly growing among the youth.”