KOCHI: As the synthetic drugs have a high demand in Kochi, the city has turned to be the favourite haunt of the inter-state drug mafia. The high demand for high-end drugs is evident from the figures with the Excise Departments as the sleuths have seized narcotics worth Rs 220 crore.
Goa has emerged as a major transit hub for smuggling high-end drugs to Kochi, where it is much in demand. However, the Excise authorities could not crack the sources since a floating network provides the contraband to Kochi residents and identifying the source is a Herculean task. The sleuths have received clues that drug manufacturing units are functioning in states like Goa.
“It is learnt the African natives settled in Goa are behind the synthetic drug peddling. The Excise Department has begun an investigation into the Goan links with the cooperation of other agencies,” said a top Excise official. Smuggling of drugs from here to Kochi by youths from Kerala is rampant.
According to the officers, MDMA drugs are being smuggled to Kochi extensively by youths. “The Kochi youths collect the drugs from the persons they meet at beaches of Goa. As these people used to move around we could not trace them,” said the officer. MDMA drugs are available in 20 brand names while 124 varieties of LSD (Lysergic acid diethylamide) stamps are available.
In Kerala, the MDMA drugs which are inhaled by the abusers are known in the names of Molly, Ecstasy and X. If the intake is high it would lead to death. The number of dots behind the stamp indicates its high, said officers.
Recently, the sleuths recovered 360 microgram LSD stamps with three dots from a youth. One stamp gives a high for about 36 hours, added the officers.
“The Excise Department has intensified its surveillance to curtail the increasing drug menace,” said Ernakulam Excise Assistant Commissioner Ashok Kumar. According to him, awareness is the best way to save youths from the clutches of this menace.
Punishment
Possession of 0.1 gm of LSD would invite a rigorous punishment of 20 years
Possession of 500 gm of MDMA drugs would result in rigorous punishment of 10 years
Big haul during the past six months
MDMA 26 kg
LSD-140 ml
Nitrazepam-500 tablets
Heroin-40 gm