Weeded out from TN, Cartels Grow Crop in Red Belt
Although the two arrested youth sourced their ‘pure stuff’ from a godown in Usilampatti, officials say ganja cultivation no longer happens in southern Tamil Nadu. It is the Naxal-hit districts in Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Chhattisgarh that are now catering to the narcotic markets in Chennai and other districts of the State, they claim.
With the ganja plantation option in Theni and Dindigul drying up because of strict police enforcement, drug cartels zeroed in on Naxal-prone villages bordering the Andhra-Odisha-Border (AOB) and also in the Sileru River belt, as the best alternative for growing weed. They also identified farmers and provided them enough money to make it profitable for them to grow ganja. The Naxal belt provided the cartels natural cover since it has zero policing. Paramilitary forces patrol the areas but they have better things to do than sniffing around for weed cultivators.
For growers, it’s almost like contractual farming: the two-term crop’s yield is handed over to the person who financed it. The product is dried and stored in the village itself by the drug dealers who later send it to various markets, including Tamil Nadu. The transportation is done by road or rail. Drugs in bulk are sent through road - usually in multiples of 100 kg - while consignments taking the rail route are always less than 100 kg. Low awareness level among Railway Protection Force and Railway Police personnel encourages transportation by train, claim sources.
Speaking to Express, Prem Anand Sinha, director, Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), Chennai zone, said that the cultivation in AOB is done with the tacit understanding that Naxalites will not disturb farmers.
“Ganja cultivation still prevails especially in East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh, Malkangiri district of Odisha and Sukma district of Chhattisgarh,” he added.
“We recently seized 250 kg of ganja, which was being smuggled into Tamil Nadu from Andhra Pradesh. Based on tip-offs, we seize the contraband. We hand over the case to the local police if the seizure is less,” he said. “We are also sensitising the local police and the railway personnel to prevent transportation of ganja,” he added.