THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Even as widespread use of narcotics is being reported in the state with several users end up committing heinous crimes, Thiruvananthapuram city police have pushed the envelope and raised the deterrence effect by conducting drug detection tests on people, whom they suspect may have used drugs.
The drug detection kits, which were provided by the Smart City Mission, are increasingly being used by the cops to find out drug abusers, who frequent public spots.
From November last week of 2024, the police have so far tested about 550 people of which 140 tested positive for drugs. The saliva of the suspects are used as sample and the result is obtained within five minutes.
The police sources said drug users have been alert about the testing kits and largely avoid public places, such as Manaveeyam Street, where they earlier used to frequent without the fear of getting caught.
According to police sources, the mobile testing system was launched in the aftermath of surge in drug abuse within the city. Some violent crimes reported in the city limit -- clashes in Manaveeyam Street for example -- were born out of grudge between drug peddling rackets. During the Christmas and the New Year festival seasons, 20-25 samples were tested daily.
“Now, it has dropped to 5 to 6 samples. We have got 1,000 kits of which about 550 have been used and the rest we want to use over a longer period. We are judiciously using them as a kit can be used only once and it costs not less than Rs 1,300,” said a police officer.
Due to the paucity of the kits and the high cost involved, random testing of public is not encouraged. Instead, the cops go for selective testing.
“We use the kits in cases where we are mostly sure that the person is under the influence of drugs,” said an officer.
The local police conduct the tests and the kits enable them to identify six types of intoxicants, including MDMA, cocaine and ganja, within five minutes.