KOCHI: The lure of a luxurious lifestyle, high-end smartphones, branded clothes, nightlife, and social media glamour, is pushing many youngsters in the city into the dangerous web of drug trafficking.
Excise and Kochi city police officials said that a pattern has emerged during recent crackdowns: several young peddlers arrested in narcotics cases were carrying high-end iPhones, many of them purchased on EMI. During interrogation, some admitted that beyond addiction, they entered the trade to repay instalments and sustain an expensive lifestyle. What starts as a means to earn quick money soon turns into a trap that is hard to escape.
Despite repeated arrests and jail terms, many offenders return to the trade soon after release. TNIE recently spoke to two youngsters in their 20s who had just completed a year behind bars. One of them, Binoy (name changed), was candid about his future plans. “Have to resume the old business and get in touch with a new supply network. Once you are into this trade, it is difficult to get out of this drug web,” he said.
There are many such peddlers who repeatedly commit the offence. To curb such habitual offenders, police invoke the Prevention of Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (PITNDPS) Act, 1988, which allows preventive detention for up to one year without bail. However, officials admit that such detention rarely changes the attitude of hardened repeat offenders. When asked about the PITNDPS law, Binoy downplayed its impact.
“Such measures take time and are rarely enforced. You can check how many have been detained under those provisions. I have to stay in this to sustain my lifestyle,” he said.
Police sources said that once a habitual offender is identified, a detailed report is submitted to the home department highlighting that the person poses a threat to society. The government then refers the matter to a screening committee to impose detention under PITNDPS. The committee usually takes around two months to examine the case and decide on preventive detention. If approved, the home secretary issues a detention order. The accused has the right to approach the Advisory Board or seek High Court review.
Sources said that between January 2024 and February 2026, Kochi city police forwarded nearly 40 names for preventive detention under PITNDPS, but only 22 habitual offenders were detained. Sources said police have already prepared a fresh list of more repeat offenders for consideration.
Another peddler, Sandeep (name changed), who had been arrested twice, claimed that suppliers often assure strong legal support if someone is booked under PITNDPS. “I was on the list for PITNDPS. But somehow the government avoided my preventive detention. I believe it was because of the support of my drug-supplying group. So, such a law does not scare us,” he said.
Police dismissed the allegation, stating that the screening committee considers multiple factors, including age and background, before approving detention. However, officials admit that delays in the process and selective approvals are being used by drug networks to spread misinformation among youngsters, creating the impression that preventive detention is rare or avoidable.
In Sandeep’s case, though he was not detained under PITNDPS, police registered a separate case against him for allegedly supplying drugs. However, the jail term seems to have done little to change his approach.
The scale of the menace is reflected in the arrest figures. In 2024 alone, Kochi city police arrested 2,475 drug suppliers. The number surged to 3,005 in 2025. Of them, around 400 were just 18 years old. What is even more alarming is that many of those involved flaunt a high-end lifestyle — owning iPhones and luxury bikes — a display of easy money that, officials said, draws more youngsters into drug peddling.
Many senior officers acknowledged that unless more stringent action against repeat offenders is expedited, the deterrent impact of the law will remain limited.