CHENNAI: The near three-month lockdown has decimated many industries. The economy has slumped and experts say it could take a few years to bring it back on track.
One business alone continues to thrive — narcotics.
The demand and supply for drugs continue to be the same, say sleuths handling anti-narcotics operations.
In keeping with current trends, the peddlers are now donning the roles of delivery agents to get the materials across.
On May 2, the city police arrested a 25-year-old man from Besant Nagar for posing as a food delivery agent and trying to sell ganja.
Based on the information provided by him, a customer was also nabbed.
Sales apart, violence over drug deals have also not stalled. On April 23, a 24-year-old man was hacked to death near Red Hills by a gang during a dispute over a ganja deal.
In another incident, on April 26, the city police arrested six men for murdering an 18-year-old boy during a dispute over ganja sale and burying his body.
Lockdown effect
Police say that unlike alcohol which is sold in shops, drugs have always been smuggled in, and with the lockdown in effect, only the location of exchanging drugs has changed.
A senior officer from the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), a national agency, said, “Nowadays, youngsters are smuggling drugs in lesser quantities fearing the police check. However, transporting drugs from other districts has reduced because border checkpoints are on high alert due to the pandemic.”
“We were not able to make any major seizures during the lockdown as most officials were posted on COVID duty,” said a senior officer from the NIB, the State police wing dealing with narcotics.