In a major breakthrough, the Narcotics Control Bureau sleuths arrested the kingpin of a racket supplying psychotropic drugs in Kochi.
The accused, identified as Navas K.H., was the main distributor of drugs such as buprenorphine and phenargan in and around Kochi. The NCB sleuths had earlier arrested Anil Jain, a drug store owner in New Delhi, who confessed to supplying substantial quantities of the dope to his various customers in Kerala including Navas.
Based on the information, sleuths traced the accused in Kochi with the support of other law enforcement agencies.
Officials said the NCB had earlier detected the operation of syndicates trafficking narcotic substances such as heroin from North India to Kerala, for further shipment to the Middle East, especially Kuwait.
Dangerous trend
“Traditionally, the trend of drug usage in Kerala was restricted to easily available substances such as ganja and charas, which are being transported from locations outside the State. But of late, we have noticed a dangerous trend in drug abuse involving the use of highly addictive and destructive psychotropic substances among youngsters, which are being sourced from places outside Kerala’’, officials said.
Officials with the Anti-Narcotic Cell of the Kerala police also backed the theory and pointed to the Goan connection to the influx of party drugs to the city. “The city is increasingly part of a growing scene involving mainly rich youngsters who take party drugs as a fashion statement. The majority of these psychotropic drugs are being sourced cheaply from Goa’’, said a top official.
According to him, the drug trend in the city has changed drastically. While earlier raids usually found cannabis, now it is chemical compounds that rule the roost.
In view of the trend, the department has begun collecting inputs about the movement of youngsters to tourist destinations in Goa, purportedly for getting linked up with drug dealers and to purchase the dopes at a much cheaper rate.
