KOCHI: Posing a challenge for the police, candies laced with ganja have started rolling into the city’s drug market. Drug traffickers from other states are using these ‘weed-candies’ to lure youngsters towards drugs.
The round, green contraband wrapped in plastic looks almost identical to normal candies and is being sold mainly to school and college students.
As of last week, the Kochi Central Police have confiscated 1,600 ‘weed candies’ weighing around 12kg in two separate seizures and arrested five persons. In the first case, a man from UP and an Assam native were arrested from Banerji Road on December 28, while trying to sell the contraband as medicine. Interestingly, the wrapper of the weed candies seized from them itself said that it contained ‘14% ganja’.
Last Thursday, three natives of Bihar were nabbed with the candies from Mullassery Canal Road. Samples sent for chemical tests revealed the presence of ganja in the toffees. Police officers said the contraband seemed to have been manufactured in northern states.
Central SHO S Vijayshankar said this was the first time they were coming across the weed candies.
“The accused persons said they used to sell one candy for anywhere between `10 and `50. It seems this form of ganja is becoming popular among users. The sellers’ plan was to hike the price once demand went up,” Vijayshankar said, adding that the police have intensified checks to tighten the noose around peddlers and prevent entry of new forms and varieties of drugs like the weed candies.
B Tenymon, assistant commissioner (excise), Ernakulam, said the excise department has stepped up patrolling to nab people peddling weed candies and other contraband. “Our initial probe reveals that the toffees originated in Uttar Pradesh. Migrant workers are currently involved in the peddling. As of now, no local party is involved in the peddling,” he said. An officer said the accused persons had sold the candies to all categories of abusers, but were mainly targeting students and youngsters.