Bengaluru’s underworld biggest drugs supplier in late 1970s-80s

Smack or heroin was available for Rs 100 per gram. “It was called gard.
For representational purposes
For representational purposes

BENGALURU: The seizure of over 3 tons of ganja by the Central Crime Branch (CCB) and the arrest of more than 15 people under the Narcotic Drugs & Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act has raised serious concerns on the widespread use of banned drugs in the City. The arrested include Sandalwood actors Ragini Dwivedi and Sanjjanaa Galrani, event manager Viren Khanna and two foreigners.

But old Bengalureans say that drugs were known in college campuses and entertainment circles as early as the late 1970s. Smack (heroin) was available for Rs 30 for a quarter gram and addicts could choose from a variety of now-banned amphetamine and methaqualone tablets, known as “uppers” and “downers” to customise their mood.

Recalling Bengaluru of the decade between mid 1970s and late 1980s, a recovering addict said narcotic drugs were available and there were people from college students to music, entertainment professionals and some others, who did drugs.  “There were opium dens in some slums in the City, like in Shivajinagar and on JC Road.

The dens enjoyed the protection of the underworld, which was one of the biggest suppliers of drugs to the City. Koli Fayaz, the dreaded underworld don of Bengaluru in the mid 1980s, and some other gangsters – Chikkat Fayyaz, Basha etc -- used to supply drugs, often on credit to loyal customers. Koli Fayaz’s links with the Mumbai underworld are well documented and it was through this channel that drugs were made available to users in Bengaluru,” said another recovering addict.

Smack or heroin was available for Rs 100 per gram. “It was called gard. The hankering addicts would ask the others — “Gard hai kya (do you have smack?),” he added. The easy availability of heroin in India between the late 1970s and late 1980s was also a consequence of the regional conflict in South Asia with the Mujahideen in Afghanistan and Pakistan pushing heroin into India from the northern borders to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in the South as part of narco terrorism and fund raising.

The LTTE were heavily into drug smuggling to augment their armed struggle against Sri Lanka. From a transit route, India within no time became a prominent hub of narcotic drugs. Recalling the role of the City police in handling drugs, the name of the then assistant commissioner of police Jayaram cropped up prominently among old Bengalureans. “ACP Jayaram would let go the first-time offenders with a warning that if he found them doing drugs the second time, he would arrest them and send them to jail.

Around the time when the NDPS Act came, many drug addicts including some foreigners were incarcerated and they died in jail. It was a non-bailable offence. Some of them, who had gone deep into drugs, committed suicide,” said a recovering addict.  “Drug addiction is the biggest pandemic the world has been facing for decades and the road to recovery, which begins with hope, is an uphill task,” he added.

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