THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Anticipating a surge in the smuggling and consumption of synthetic drugs, including MDMA, the excise department has decided to monitor farmhouses and homestays to check whether drug-fuelled parties were being organised in connection with the Christmas and New Year celebrations.
The move comes in based on intelligence inputs that rave parties could take place in remote areas.
As per highly-placed sources, several rave parties took place last year in remote areas, including the inter-state border with Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Those areas are not known tourist spots, but several farmhouses and homestays dot those locations and in certain spots, drug parties were clandestinely held under the garb of get-togethers and New Year celebrations.
“We usually keep a tab on the DJ parties conducted by hotels and resorts. But rave parties in farmhouses usually flew under our radar. Since our intelligence unit reported the matter, we are taking it up seriously,” said a senior official.
“Drug parties were conducted at farmhouses near Panachamoodu in the rural parts of Thiruvananthapuram district and other hinterlands of the state,” the officer said. The officer added that the organisers of DJ parties at hotels and resorts have been asked to keep a tab on the participants and inform the sleuths if they find any suspicious activities. “This time, we intend to send a strong message that strict legal action will be taken against the organisers as well if drug abuse is reported among their party attendees,” the officer added.