KOCHI: The Excise Department had a busy Onam season with a high number of cases related to the sale of narcotic substances, drugs and spurious liquor being registered in Ernakulam district. The special drive conducted from August 10 to September 15 saw 204 cases registered.
As per the department data, 225 persons were arrested with drugs, ganja and spurious liquor. As many as 105 cases were registered under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act in the district, and 99 cases under the Abkari Act. “An alarming picture is that several youngsters have been arrested with drugs and ganja. In one case, we arrested teenagers with a huge quantity of ganja. Earlier, more cases related to flow of spirit and spurious liquor were common during Onam. Now, youngsters are caught with ganja and drugs like MDMA, LSD, Nitrazepam and Buprenorphine tablets,” said Excise Deputy Commissioner A S Ranjith.
The excise squads seized 36.389 kg of ganja, 156 Nitrazepam tablets, 23 Buprenorphine tablets, 10 LSD stamps and 1.3 grams of MDMA. Similarly, 260 litres of wash, 200 litres of arrack, 239.482 litres of Indian made foreign liquor (IMFL), 39.350 litres of beer and 50 litres of toddy were seized.
The Excise Commissioner ordered another special drive named Vishudhi from September 4 to September 14 as a preventive measure to curb drug sale in the state during Onam. As part of Vishudhi drive, excise officers arrested 20 persons with drugs and narcotic products in the district. As many as 20.2 kg of ganja, one ganja plant, 56 Nitrazepam tablets and 23 Buprenorphine tablets were recovered in Ernakulam.
“This year, we also monitored the Onam celebrations at schools and colleges. There have been complaints that drugs and liquor were being brought to education institutions as part of the Onam celebrations. Our squads had been working round the clock for more than a month,” Ranjith said.
