KOCHI: Indicating that junkies in the state are fast switching to synthetic drugs, excise data reveal that there was a sharp rise in the quantity and number of chemical narcotic substances seized by the agency in 2022 compared to the previous year. The year 2022 witnessed a record seizure of drugs like MDMA, methamphetamine, LSD, and cocaine from the state.
Interestingly, the seizure of ganja or marijuana by Kerala Excise witnessed a major decline last year compared to 2021. The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act cases in Kerala almost doubled in 2022 with 6,610 cases registered by excise compared to 3,922 in 2021. However, what raises the concern of agencies engaged in anti-narcotic enforcement activities is the growing tentacles of synthetic drugs in the state.
As per the data with excise, as much as 7,775.425g of MDMA was recovered by the agency in 2022 compared to 6130.5g in 2021. When only 88.806g of methamphetamine was recovered in 2021, the quantity rose to 2,432.483g in 2022. When only 3.657g of LSD was recovered in the state by excise in 2021, the same rose to 42.783g in 2022. The same trend is also seen in the seizure of cocaine which was 40.959g in 2022 compared with nil in 2021 and 16.37g in 2020. Heroin which is mostly smuggled from abroad was also recovered by excise. The amount of heroin seized in 2021 was a mere 18.187g. However it rose to 447.786g in 2022.
On the other hand, ganja seizures witnessed a decline in 2022 as 3,602.312kg was seized by excise compared to 5,602.6kg in 2021. The quantity seized in 2021 was 3,209.6kg. As many as 1,902 ganja plants were traced in 2022 compared to 760 in 2021. However, 2018 and 2016 witnessed more seizures of ganja plants with 2,186 and 2,045, respectively.
G Sreekumar Menon, former director general at the National Academy of Customs, Excise and Narcotics (NACEN) and currently working as a consultant for the United Nations Office of Drug Control (UNODC) said MDMA, known as ecstasy among its abusers, is the drug that is currently trending.
Though MDMA seizures are frequent across Kerala, the place where it is manufactured remains unknown. “MDMA is an expensive narcotic substance. So everyone cannot afford it. But still more people are into its abuse now. It is a matter of concern that youngsters in Kerala are now switching to MDMA. Drugs like LSD existed since 1960 but were not popular in this part of the world. As these drugs are easy to hide and difficult to detect after abuse, people prefer such drugs. On the other hand, people who cannot afford drugs like MDMA and LSD continue to use ganja,” he said.
A senior excise officer said the manufacturing hub of synthetic drugs in Kerala remains elusive. Ganja is mainly cultivated in the forests of Odisha and Andhra Pradesh.
“MDMA, methamphetamine, LSD, heroin and cocaine come from abroad. Drug-peddling gangs in Bengaluru, Chennai, Mumbai, and New Delhi procure it from abroad. Drug peddlers in Kerala are linked with agents of major peddling gangs in these cities. Earlier, ganja was cultivated in the forests of Kerala. However, due to stringent enforcement activities, the cultivators have moved to Odisha and Andhra Pradesh,” he said. Sreekumar said a survey carried out by the Government of India in 2019 revealed that, though cases rose steadily, there was a major dearth of rehabilitation centres for addicts in the country.
“The issue with the awareness programmes here is that personnel belonging to enforcement agencies are taking classes to students creating fear in the minds of children and the consequences of getting trapped in drug cases. So children try to abuse drugs clandestinely. The awareness programmes should be imparted by medical practitioners who can give classes about health issues faced by drug abusers. They should train counsellors who have expertise in dealing with drug abusers,” he said.