THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Close on the heels of police action against drug peddling, the excise department too has stepped up efforts to rid the state of the menace.
Between Friday and Sunday, the excise sleuths arrested 378 people who were found possessing intoxicants and seized 77kg of ganja and 1 kg of MDMA under ‘Operation Clean Slate’. Sources said 360 cases were registered until Sunday in the drive that focuses on those involved in drug-related cases. The drive, which aims to disrupt the supply chain of drugs, will continue till Wednesday
“Even those having a single drug case against them are on our watch. Our focus is to sustain pressure on drug rackets by apprehending peddlers. We also checked areas we identified as drug hotspots,” said an official.
The excise has been receiving flak for allegedly not doing enough to curb the drug menace.
Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan had trained guns on the agency in the assembly and questioning their efficiency. He had claimed that the excise was not upgraded to take on drug mafia and that they be stripped of enforcement duties.
Meanwhile, the police department, under its anti-drugs drive ‘Operation D-hunt’ launched on February 22, arrested 4,228 people and registered 4,081 cases till Saturday. It also seized 1.43kg MDMA and 185kg ganja so far. The MDMA was seized mostly from northern districts.
As per the police data, the highest quantity of MDMA was seized from Malappuram (594g), followed by Palakkad (195g), Wayanad (95g), Kasaragod (75g) and Ernakulam city (60g). Thrissur topped in ganja seizures (34kg) and was followed by Palakkad (59kg) and Malappuram (16 kg).