THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Thiruvananthapuram rural district police have registered 12 cases in which commercial quantity of drugs were seized in 2024.
Commercial quantities of MDMA were seized on three occasions, while that of ganja were seized on nine occasions. In 2023, there were only four such cases.
As per the police records, the quantity of MDMA seized in 2024 was 320g. A highly potent synthetic drug, 10g of MDMA is considered a commercial quantity. A total of 18.75g of methamphetamine was also seized during this period.
The total quantity of ganja seized was 268kg, making Thiruvananthapuram rural police district fourth in terms of ganja seizure in the state. Palakkad, Thrissur rural and Kozhikode are ahead of Thiruvananthapuram rural in terms of ganja seizure. Police registered a total of 1,736 NDPS cases in 2024, in which there are 1,612 accused.
District Police Chief Kiran Narayanan said the increase in seizure of commercial quantity drugs was due to the special measures taken by the department to curb drug peddling.
She said measures such as strengthening of the district anti-narcotics special action force (DANSAF) and proper training imparted to the officers of the special force have yielded results in the form of more cases and seizure of large quantities of drugs.
“The creation of DANSAF has streamlined operations, allowing for targeted actions to combat drug trafficking. DANSAF’s primary responsibilities include intelligence gathering, disseminating information to local police stations, collaborating with other law enforcement agencies such as the excise department and Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), and monitoring the judicial process for ongoing narcotics cases.
Prior experience in surveillance of criminal goonda gangs that have expanded their illicit activities into drug trafficking has facilitated a great number of narcotics seizures,” she added.