Drug seizures trigger alarm

Enforcement agencies fear Thiruvananthapuram may become transit point

June 23, 2018 07:43 am | Updated 07:43 am IST - THIRUVANANTHAPURAM

With several narcotic seizures in recent times, enforcement agencies fear that Thiruvananathapuram could soon emerge as a preferred transit point for international drug cartels.

Around 27 kg of hashish oil was seized in separate operations by the Excise Department and the City Police recently, one of which involved the arrest of three Maldivian nationals who allegedly attempted to smuggle the contraband to the Maldives.

Besides, roughly 200 kg of ganja was confiscated by the enforcement agencies this year. These included the record haul of 130 kg, the largest to be recorded in the State capital, by the police two months ago. Besides psychotropic substances, there has also been a rising demand for synthetic drugs such as Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (LSD).

Growing demand

According to a senior Excise official, the city and its suburbs were gradually being perceived as safe havens for drug trade with a burgeoning clientèle, considering the huge inflow of tourists. While a significant quantity of the smuggled contraband was meant to be smuggled abroad, a large portion was intended to cater to the growing demand in the region.

“We have been noticing an increasing inclination among people in the State to become ‘partners’ in the lucrative drug trade. Youngsters, particularly college students, have also sought to cash in by becoming part of the racket, even as they feed their addiction to such substances,” he said.

In recent times, the Excise Department stepped up its enforcement operations in Idukki, which is regarded an intermediate point for such rackets. Over 100 kg of ganja was seized from the district around two months ago. Sleuths probing the hashish smuggling case have also discovered that the ‘manufacturing units’, which processed ganja to obtain its more potent form of hashish, functioned in the district. The raw materials are suspected to have been sourced from the Naxalite-dominated forests of Andhra Pradesh.

With powerful lobbies based outside the State operating the well-oiled network of drug traffickers, the enforcement agencies faced limitations in busting such rackets. However, efforts were on to crack down on the intermediate points.

Excise officials claimed that there were no similarities among the two cases pertaining to the recent hashish seizures, even while the police suspected that both gangs were supplied the contraband by the same individual or group.

Meanwhile, the three Maldivian natives were returned to judicial custody by the City Police on Tuesday after holding them for evidence collection for five days. The investigating team is learnt to have obtained vital information regarding the suppliers of the confiscated hashish oil.

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