Kerala excise department gets fresh batch of Abon, drug detection kits

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In a bid to boost its ant-drug drive, the excise department has procured drug detection kits and Abon, an easy-to-use kit to detect intoxication. The department  has purchased 1250 pieces of Abon kits and 40 pieces of drug detection kits to be supplied to the excise range offices.
The Abon kits are used to test for intoxication,  while the drug detection kits can identify the specific drug consumed by a person. These tools are commonly used worldwide to test suspected drug abusers and determine  the type of narcotics they have taken.

Although the department has been using Abon kits, drug detection kits were sparingly used in the past. According to sources, the  department received only five pieces of drug detection kits from a central agency last year, which were already three to four months old. Following this experience, the department decided to purchase the drug detection kits on its own by floating a tender.

Each Abon kit costs Rs 400, while a drug detection kit costs around Rs 5,000.  The kits use saliva to detect drugs instantly. However, their results are not admissible as evidence in court.

E N Suresh, Additional Excise Commissioner (Enforcement),  said the deterrence effect of the kits would be enormous and hoped it would help the department to curb the menace of drug use. “Using the kits we can identify the drug offenders and then take further appropriate steps against  them. The users will have a fear of getting caught,” he said.