Excise Commissioner Rishiraj Singh believes by vesting the Excise Department with powers provided under the Juvenile Justice Act will help clamp down on sale of drugs on school premises and to children. Here, he tells Express Gopika I S that the limitations in existing laws are the root cause for the drug mafia’s growing tentacles in the state.
Q: What are the limitations of the existing regulations like NDPS (Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985) and COTPA (Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act)?
A: COTPA is a meaningless act. I have personally met the former Union Minister for Women and Children and requested her to enhance the punishment as per the act. As of now Rs 200 is the fine for any person caught with tobacco products in any amount. When it comes to NDPS, anything less than one kg will mean the culprit will get bail even if it is a repeat offence. It becomes a serious offence only if drugs above 1 kg are sold. They sell the contraband in packets of 500- 900 gm.
Q: How much drug had been seized in the state recently? Was Kerala the market they were aiming for?
A: Drugs worth Rs 1,000 crore was seized in the state from 2018. Among them, Rs 600 crore is MDMA drug (ecstasy) all which came from out of India and were on way to Goa. Kerala has become a transit point for drugs in the country. The drugs come here not necessarily for being used in the state. Now, we also see them going towards the South East Asian countries. There is a big racket where the drugs are coming from Chennai by couriers and then from here to Kuala Lumpur. Apart from the MDMA drugs, there is hashish oil. We have seized hashish oil worth around Rs 200 crore from the state.
Q: What about the rumoured Latino links?
A: We had questioned a woman from the Philippines. She revealed South American countries like Brazil are witnessing a free flow of drugs. The people who sent her with the drugs had sent her to Goa. She was en route to Goa from Cochin when we nabbed her.
Q: Which are the newest drugs in town? And the most popular?
A: LSD stamp is the newest one. Strength enhancers and prescription drugs like amphetamine, benadryl, diazepam, corex are used in place of brown sugar and heroin. Spasmo proxyvon is also a commonly used prescription drug in the state. We even went to Mysuru and seized them and have closed down a few shops in the state. Some 15,000 tablets were seized from the state. They are quite popular since they are very cheap.
Q: Is ganja grown in the state? Even for pharmaceutical purposes?
A: There is no ganja cultivation in Kerala. However, our supply now comes from Andhra Pradesh. The problem with ganja is that now almost everyone has jumped on to the wagon. It is not just the children who use it but everyone. We have caught professors, doctors, and engineers. The other day we caught two doctors who were selling ganja. About 10,000 acres of land in rural areas of Visakhapatnam is used for agricultural purposes and 99 per cent of it is used for ganja cultivation.
Q: Is this an organised business in Kerala?
A: Not at all. Most of them do not have any connections. They just find some dealer, will collect it and sell it to local dealers who will sell it to the users. None of them knows the person at the other end. Money is paid through mobile wallets.
Q: In terms of drug abuse, aren’t our cities safe compared to the metros?
A: No. Kochi is the second biggest hub of drugs in the country. According to the Centre’s data, the city is second only to Amritsar in the number of narcotic cases registered. A total of 12,000 cases was lodged in Kerala in 2018.