THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: State Excise Enforcement Squad (SEES) head T Anikumar hung his boots on Tuesday, ending a 25-year-long stint with the organisation that he had helped evolve into a potent force combating the drug menace.
What made the former excise assistant commissioner stand out was his dedication and perseverance, which helped the SEES crack numerous cases and shore up the offensive against organised drug racket that found Kerala a lucrative market to peddle their products.
To put his achievements in numbers would be an arduous task. Under him, the SEES that came into existence in 2019, have so far seized 9,000 kg cannabis, one lakh litres of spirit, 250 kg of hashish oil and impounded more than 750 vehicles, including 150 lorries, that ferried the contraband.
The SEES during its countless operations also seized Rs 2 crore from those involved in drug peddling. For the good works, Anikumar had received 400 Good Service Entries, the highest an excise officer in the state has received till now.
Anikumar, a native of Chanthavila in Thiruvananthapuram district, said the formation of SEES was a watershed moment in the history of the department as it emboldened the sleuths to launch daring operations.
“The formation of Excise Commissioner’s Squad and SEES were two major milestones in our anti-narcotics offensive. After SEES, we managed to seize large consignments of drugs, including ganja weighing several quintals, which dealt a huge blow to the organised drug rackets,” he said.
According to Anikumar, Kerala has managed to maintain a clean slate when it comes to the production of intoxicants. “Drugs are not being produced in Kerala. However, drugs from other states do find their way to the state because we have a market here,” he said.
According to him, cannabis influx is from the border areas of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha, while synthetic drugs, including MDMA, are sourced from Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi and Goa.
Anikumar said the use of drugs among children should be addressed seriously and policies should be tweaked to deal with this threat more effectively.
“Just giving awareness lessons won’t do. We need to keep school and college campuses clean and for that the drug supply to the students should be cut off. The excise officials and school teachers should work in a more coordinated manner to achieve the task.”
Anikumar said the conviction rate is also going up in the NDPS (Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances) Act cases as the officers have now gained expertise in filing water-tight cases using the provisions of the act.
“Earlier that was not the case. If a person was caught in possession of spirit and ganja, he would have mostly been booked under Abkari Act. The officers of that time used to think that booking someone under the NDPS Act was a demanding process. But we took the initiative and changed the scenario. We studied the court judgments on NDPS Act cases and began learning how to present a foolproof case. The effort culminated in us bringing out a handbook detailing the procedures to be followed in NDPS cases and that was well received,” he added.
Anikumar had to face hardships also during his anti-narcotics juggernaut.