A growing patronage for ganja, especially among school and college students in the city, and the burgeoning band of elusive drug peddlers has set the city police into exploring ways and strategies to tackle the menace.
According to the Narcotics Cell of the city police, recent seizures of ganja and a few arrests have revealed that drug peddlers have managed to make inroads into and create their own networks in several of the city’s schools and colleges.
In October last year, two men hailing from Ernakulam, both accused in various cases including murder, were arrested by the Medical College police. They allegedly confessed that they were selling drugs including Nitrazepam, apart from ganja, in several schools and colleges in the city.
Apart from that, there were at least 20 other instances of ganja peddlers being arrested in the city over the last five months. According to R. Duttan, Assistant Commissioner, Narcotics Cells (Thiruvananthapuram), the cell was yet to reap tangible results in tackling the drug peddlers and tracing their sources but was actively on the job.
Coastal areas including the Valiyathura, Aaaramada, and Mudavanmugal areas near Poojapura, Vazhayila near Peroorkada, Thumba, and a few surrounding areas and educational institutions in these regions were spots where the drug peddlers focussed most in recent times.
Kowdiar, too, was on their radar, with hangouts of youngsters now being targeted for the sale of ganja and other prohibited tobacco products.
Some of them were operating from Kovalam, where the presence of such peddlers had been a known fact for several years, targeting tourists and now local educational institutions as well, he said.
The situation, Mr. Duttan said, prompted the Narcotics Cell to join hands with the Janamaitri Police and the Excise Department and under the supervision of City Police Commissioner H. Venkatesh to look at involving the public, parents, and neighbours to prevent the youth from falling prey to these drug-peddling gangs.
The effort began with an interactive awareness session, involving residents associations as well, at MSK Nagar in the Fort area last month, during which Mr. Venkatesh and other officers involved explained on the ill-effects of drug abuse.
Power point presentations, short films, discussions on how to prevent children from getting trapped in drug networks, counselling sessions with those who are ready to kick the habit and so on are part of the initiative, which had its second edition at the Mudavanmugal Community Hall on Sunday.
The aim, Mr. Duttan said, was to ensure that residents’ associations, parents and even neighbours were aware of the danger lurking outside and to be vigilant so as to slowly cut off access to children for drug peddlers.
