KOCHI: As Kerala grapples with a growing drug menace, the rise in involvement of minors in drug trafficking and drug abuse cases has baffled enforcement agencies. The trend, they say, indicates peddlers are deliberately targeting school students.
According to the excise department, 170 minors have been caught for the smuggling and trading of drugs since 2022. The officials report a surge in cases registered against minors under the NDPS (Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances) Act since 2022. It rose from 23 NDPS cases in 2021 to 40 in 2022. In 2023, as many as 39 NDPS cases were registered against minors.
In 2024, this rose to 55 cases. This year, alarmingly, 36 NDPS cases have already been registered against minors in the first two months.
“The most concerning trend is the increasing drug abuse among schoolchildren. The rising number of NDPS cases involving minors suggests that drug peddlers are now deliberately targeting school students. Unfortunately, many parents remain unaware that their children are using drugs or are involved in its trade,” a senior excise officer said.
Earlier this month, the Tiruvalla police arrested a Kuttapuzha native who had been using his 12-year-old son for drug peddling. During interrogation, he admitted using his child to deliver drugs, assuming the police would not suspect a minor. Similarly, the Railway Protection Force (RPF) has frequently come across cases in which minors were used as drug couriers.
“Following regular crackdowns on individuals smuggling drugs and ganja via trains from Odisha and West Bengal, traffickers have started using women and children as carriers. Typically, a mother and child are hired to transport ganja, earning up to Rs 5,000 per trip. Such cases have increased significantly in recent years, prompting us to be more vigilant. We hand over the accused to the excise and police personnel for further action under the NDPS Act,” an RPF official in Kochi said.
Drug peddlers are also exploiting legal loopholes to involve minors in trafficking. Since 2021, 86 minors have been convicted in NDPS cases registered by excise, with only one found not guilty.
However, the penalties for juveniles remain minimal, with the maximum punishment often limited to a Rs 4,000 fine.
“Juvenile offenders (aged below 18 years) involved in NDPS cases are handled under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act. The Juvenile Justice Board frequently grants bail in such cases. Our priority is to ensure these children do not commit similar offences again. We provide counselling to their parents and monitor the juveniles closely,” the excise officer said.