IDUKKI: Idukki is once again in news, but for all wrong reasons this time. The district has been a safe transit hub for the trade of narcotic drugs for some time, and a significant number of cases related to trafficking of hashish oil and ganja are being registered here.
No matter how many culprits fall in the police net in connection with drug trafficking, the movement of drugs through the district is not going south.
Also, the number of youngsters, including college students, using narcotic drugs has increased in the recent past.
Earlier, drug trafficking was carried out mainly through the Kambammettu, Kumily, Bodimettu and Chinnar checkposts. Of late, the drug mafia has been using the Railways as there is not stringent inspection, unlike the four checkposts. Up to Aluva, drug carriers come by train and then travel by bus to the Rajakkad, Santhanpara and Adimali areas in Idukki, where the drug mafia thrives.
“When drug traders, especially ganja growers, found it difficult to continue their activities in Idukki, due to widespread checking, they moved to safer places like Andhra Pradesh and Orissa for cultivation and procurement. However, there is no decrease in the flow of drugs to the district as they have takers here,” says Idukki Deputy Excise Commissioner K A Nelson.
Nelson told ‘Express’ that geographical peculiarities of the district are helping drug traders thrive, to which mainly youngsters are falling prey. Besides school and college students, the drug mafia also targets foreign tourists .
Youngsters are drawn to ganja as it is more easily available than the other narcotics and liquor. The fact that possessing less than one kg of ganja is a bailable offence also lures the youth to the drug.
Over 100 drug-related cases were lodged in the district in the last six months. As many as 34 of the 140 persons arrested in connection with cases registered by the Idukki Excise Department this year were students in the 16-22 age group.The Deputy Commissioner says that only continuous awareness programmes can help prevent youngsters from falling pray to drugs. “Unfortunately, staff crunch in the Department is making it difficult even for aggressive officials to take follow-up action,” he says.
While the number of youngsters brought to various rehabilitation centres in the district increased over the year, there has been a notable increase in the number of ‘beginners’ also.
Even as the police and Excise officials are trying to prevent drug trafficking in the district, they have not been able to curb drug use. It was found that in many instances, college students are acting as drug carriers for making easy money. This year alone, 37 vehicles, mostly bike, were seized from persons accused in drug-related cases. It is only a few days ago that the Adimali Narcotics Enforcement Squad seized 11 kg of hashish, worth `11 crore in the international market, from two persons in the district.