THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Underscoring the need for opening unified fronts against drug rackets, the police and the excise departments have decided to launch joint anti-drug operations. The decision to ensure better police-excise coordination comes ahead of a high-level meeting to be convened by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on March 24 to discuss the action plan against the drug rackets.
The police-excise meeting, led by Law and Order ADGP Manoj Abraham and Excise Commissioner Mahipal Yadav on Saturday, decided to share the database of drug offenders between the departments. The database available in the districts will be shared between the district-level officers. Both the departments will collect and share information that will help the excise and the police invoke the Prevention of Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (PIT-NDPS), which allows the law enforcement agencies keep the drug traffickers under preventive detention and seize their illegally acquired properties.
Both the departments also decided to increasingly invoke the stringent Act against the offenders. The police in its part will also take measures to detain the habitual drug offenders under the Kerala Anti-social Activities Prevention Act (KAAPA).
The excise department during the meeting asked for enhanced police support in technical matters as well as inter-state anti-drug operations. In apropos to this, Manoj Abraham directed the district police chiefs, who also attended the online meeting, to ensure that the technical support on cyber-related matters, such as Call Detail Record, tower location and analysis of darknet, are not delayed. In cases having inter-state connections, the police will help the excise sleuths, who are probing such cases, track down the fugitives.
The officers from both the departments will jointly conduct raids in labour camps, college hostels and cargo service centres where drug abuse and peddling are suspected.
The excise and police officials of the districts will meet separately to chart out micro-level action plans. The meeting also expressed concerns on some of the cancer drugs being misused by drug peddlers and users.