KOCHI: Operation Toofan has sharply intensified Kerala’s crackdown on narcotics, triggering a record surge in NDPS cases and arrests. But TNIE’s visits to migrant worker hubs across Ernakulam district found that organised drug syndicates are adapting to the intensified enforcement, with easy bail for arrested peddlers and the lure of illicit wealth blunting the campaign’s long-term impact.
In police records, the impact of the drive is evident. Before Operation Toofan, Kochi City Police registered around 300 to 400 cases under the NDPS Act every month. That figure has now crossed 500. Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala recently said more than 5,000 cases had been registered under the campaign and arrests had also crossed the 5,000 mark across Kerala, underlining the scale of the crackdown.
During visits to Perumbavoor and other migrant worker settlements in Ernakulam, many workers said the operation had driven several street-level peddlers out of the trade. Mondal, a migrant worker who was arrested in an NDPS case last year, said the experience convinced him never to return.
“The money was attractive and I had regular customers. But after I was arrested, nobody from the network came to help me. My wife had to sell her ornaments to meet legal expenses. That was the end of it for me,” Mondal said.
However, many migrant workers said drug syndicates have quickly changed their strategy after Operation Toofan. Instead of abandoning arrested carriers as they allegedly did earlier, suppliers now promise legal assistance and arrange bail, allowing many peddlers to return to the trade within days.
“There are several such cases in Perumbavoor. I recently asked a youngster to leave the drug trade after Operation Toofan. He told me his suppliers would arrange bail if he was caught. He even cited people who returned to the business within days. Unless this changes, police action alone will not be enough,” said Saiful Alam, a migrant worker from Assam who has been working in Ernakulam for the past 10 years.
The issue has also been raised by traders during recent interactions with the home minister in Perumbavoor. Chennithala said the challenges surrounding bail would be taken up with the Centre.
Meanwhile, senior police officers told this newspaper TNIE that keeping thousands of accused behind bars for longer periods would require a significant expansion of Kerala’s prison infrastructure. “Arrests alone cannot end this business. There are traffickers who continue to live in luxury. Youngsters see their lifestyle and believe the rewards outweigh the risks. Unless those illegal assets are seized, others will keep entering the trade,” said Amandeep, a migrant worker from West Bengal.
Senior police officers agreed that attaching properties acquired through narcotics trafficking could become the next decisive phase of Operation Toofan. When TNIE raised the issue with Chennithala, he said the government would seek legal opinion on initiating action to attach such properties.
Three challenges
Break the bail network by preventing syndicates from arranging legal support for arrested peddlers
Target illicit wealth by attaching and confiscating assets acquired through narcotics trafficking
Strengthen legal provisions to prevent habitual offenders from quickly returning to the drug trade