KOCHI: With the police seizing large quantities of dried ganja, MDMA, LSD and other drugs during their extensive drive in the district, drug peddlers have turned their focus to hashish oil, a ganja extract. According to a top police officer, drug peddlers have started smuggling hashish oil as it is easy to transport and difficult to identify. They also see it as an alternative to other drugs.
On Tuesday, police arrested two people, including an LLB student, with 2kg of hashish oil, which is worth nearly Rs 1 crore. The arrested are Muhammed Aslam, 23, of Kakkanad, and Clint Xavier, 24, of Thrissur. They were trying to smuggle the contraband from Andhra Pradesh in an inter-state bus.
“After we intensified our drive, several people have been caught with large quantities of banned drugs. This might have forced them to switch to hashish oil. The arrested duo said they switched to hashish oil as they thought they would be caught if they smuggle dried ganja. The information received by Rural SP K Karthik helped us trace them,” said a senior officer.
He said drug-peddlers make a quick buck smuggling the hashish oil, compared to other substances. “The market rate of ganja is around Rs 4,000-6,000 per kg. Whereas, hashish oil costs around Rs 50 lakh per kg. Since it is easy to conceal the drug, carriers bet big on hashish oil,” the officer said.
In March, the CISF arrested woman with 1.2kg of hashish oil while she was attempting to fly to Bahrain from the Kochi airport. “We have widened our intelligence network and are tracking the movement of suspects,” said Karthik.