KOCHI: A few years ago, when Changanassery resident Susimol, 24, moved to Kochi, it was with the idea of giving wings to her dreams. Today, she is behind bars. Susimol and four others were arrested for possessing 400 grams of MDMA by the excise from Stadium Link Road in October last year. Similar are the stories of Shilpa, 19, who hails from Kayamkulam; Mridula, 38, of Dharmadam; Blessy, 21, of Kollam; Swati, 28, of Kunnathunad. The list is growing as Kochi turns into a hotbed for drug rackets.
The number of drug cases has surged in the past year leaving Excise officials on their toes. What’s alarming is that there’s a significant increase in the involvement of women in peddling drugs. Though the department does not maintain gender-based data on the number of persons arrested in narcotics cases, the above names alone prove the point.
According to Excise department data, as many as 928 cases were registered in Ernakulam in 2023 under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act and 911 persons were arrested. The corresponding figure for 2022 was 876.
The past year also saw a rise in the number of cases registered under the Abkari Act and the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA). While 1,277 Abkari Act cases and 9,201 COTPA cases were registered last year, the corresponding figure for 2022 stood at 1,180 and 8,859, respectively.
“There is an increase in the number of narcotic and other cases registered in 2023,” says Excise Enforcement Assistant Commissioner Sudheer T N.
“But there were months when the number of cases was low. Of course, we had carried out additional enforcement activities resulting in a rise in cases. We will soon be getting additional persons from the new batch under training at the Excise Academy and they will help us in the enforcement as well as awareness activities.”
Sudheer said the increase in the abuse of synthetic drugs by youngsters including women is a major concern.
“The alarming trend is that more women are involved in drug trade and abuse in the district. In a majority of cases, women drug abusers start with narcotic substances given by their boyfriends, college mates, roommates and hostel mates. Later, the peddlers trap these women for drug trade activities. In several cases, it was girls who moved to Kochi for educational purposes who were targeted by the racketeers. But we’ve also had cases in which women were using drugs as a style quotient. They rebuked others for not using drugs,” the officer says.
Other than synthetic drugs, the excise has also noted the increasing heroin and brown sugar seizures in the district involving migrant workers.
“Earlier, NDPS cases against migrant workers were mostly related to the seizure of ganja smuggled from Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Bengal. Now, we are witnessing an increasing number of cases related to the seizure of brown sugar and heroin, both originating from opium cultivated by farmers for the government. What is alarming is that now Keralites are procuring heroin from migrant workers. Earlier, narcotic substances brought by other state workers were circulated only in their circles,” a senior excise official adds.
Meanwhile, Kochi City Police also witnessed a rise in the number of NDPS cases last year. According to data, over 1,550 people were arrested in as many as 1,359 cases. The police also recovered 326.53kg of ganja, 283.66g of hashish oil and 1,959g of MDMA.
Kochi City Commissioner A Akbar, who handed over the charge to S Syamsundar in view of the upcoming general elections, believes that strengthening enforcement activities resulted in the detection of more narcotic cases. “Drug menace is a concern in Kochi. Recognising this, we have strengthened the enforcement activities. This resulted in the detection of more NDPS cases and arrests of accused persons. We will continue with the enforcement activities,” he says.
After Vaibhav Saxena took charge as District Police Chief Ernakulam Rural, one of his first initiatives was Operation Clean, for which he constituted a special team, to track and detain drug peddlers.
Under that, over 1,400 NDPS cases were registered and the police seized 106kg of ganja, 2.25kg of MDMA, 87 LSD blots, 62 grams of brown sugar, 52 grams of hashish oil and eleven ganja plants.
Both police and excise have noted that MDMA seized in Kochi mostly turns out to be Methamphetamine, also known as Meth. “Both are synthetic drugs which look alike in crystal form. However, MDMA sold here is, in fact, Meth. Not MDMA. Meth is a comparatively cheaper drug. We identify the drugs only when samples are sent for chemical analysis,” a police officer adds.
Apart from enforcement, the excise and police are looking to enhance awareness and de-addiction activities. They have joined hands to start a de-addicting programme for people caught abusing drugs.
“We have the Vimukthi de-addiction centres at the Muvattupuzha General Hospital and the medical college in Kalamassery. We also have a special in-patient ward for women and children coming for the de-addiction programme at the medical college. Soon, we will have another de-addiction centre in Tripunithura,” Sudheer says.
Excise cases in ekm district 2022-23
NDPS cases 8,76,928
Abkari cases 1,18,01,277
COTPA cases 8,85,99,201
Total 1,09,15,11,406
Persons arrested in NDPS cases (2023) 911
Quantity seized (2023)
Ganja 335.717 kg
MDMA 1.679 kg
LSD 0.118 g
Hashish oil 1.727 kg
Brown Sugar 240.811 g
Heroin 465.741 g
Charas 13.450 g
Nitrazepam tablets 141.766 g
Spirit 6,720 litres
Arrack 98.200 litres