The city police have arrested four persons on the charge of drug peddling.
The Ernakulam South police arrested Abu Tahir and Shehban, 18, both hailing from Mattancherry, and recovered 15 nitrozepam tablets and 250 grams of ganja from their possession.
In a separate case, the Mulavukad police arrested Shyam, 48, for possessing ganja.
In another operation, the police arrested Derick, 25, a native of Thevara, with magic mushrooms. Incidentally, anti-narcotic officials in Kochi have noticed a recent surge in the number of youngsters visiting the hot-beds of the mushroom including Munnar and Kodaikanal.
According to enforcement agencies, the popularity of the mushrooms, reportedly grown in the wilds of the Nilgiris, is growing among the well-heeled urban youth in such a way that it has even begun replacing high-end party drugs.
“Since they appear as edible mushrooms, nobody can differentiate them at first glance and even if caught, there is nothing that officials can do since it has not been defined as ‘contraband’,” officials said. The non-availability of samples has also held the enforcement agencies back from conducting a scientific examination to identify the contents of the mushroom.
