Kathmandu, Feb 25 (IANS) The use of 'date rape drugs' as well as abuse of prescription drugs is rising with India emerging as one of the main sources of drugs sold through illegal Internet pharmacies, drugs watchdog International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) has warned.

In its annual report, launched in Kathmandu Thursday by the UN Information Centre and UN Office on Drugs and Crime, the Vienna-based body said the 'date-rape drug' phenomenon was evolving rapidly, as sexual abusers were attempting to escape drug controls by using substances not restricted by the international drug conventions.

In the past, Flunitrazepam, sold under the brand name Rohypnol, was once so commonly misused for sexual assault that it came to be dubbed the 'date-rape drug'.

Now after it was banned, criminals were using other substances like the psychotropic gamma-Hydroxybutyric acid, and ketamines which were disguised in foods or drinks.

The high dosages administered to victims also posed serious health risks, the report said, adding that date rapes, in addition to occurring in private surroundings, had also been reported in bars, restaurants and night clubs.

Highly organised and powerful criminal networks were using new processes, routes and substances to keep drug manufacturing operations alive, the report said.

In India prescription drugs were being circulated for unlawful purposes after orders placed abroad through the Internet were sent to buyers using courier and postal services.

South Asian countries were becoming a growing hub for the manufacture of amphetamine-like stimulants, especially India, where several clandestine laboratories to manufacture such drugs had been discovered.

Cannabis was also grown and trafficked in the region, including in India, Nepal and Sri Lanka.

In Nepal, Devendra Subedi, senior superintendent of police, said a rise in opium cultivation had been detected in two districts in southern Nepal bordering India: Bara and Parsa.

The opium farmers were being given protection by the armed gangs mushrooming in Nepal's volatile Terai and the product was being sold in towns in India across the border, Subedi said.