Cocaine slips deep into city party circuit

Chennai: With four arrests of foreign nationals with cocaine, meant for supply to their loyal customers in Chennai, since 2012, it looks as if cocaine is getting the status of a party drug in the city.
For cocaine chasers, unlike alcohol, every single snuff ‘boosts their energy level’. “We know it is not healthy and legal. But every shot boosts the energy level and helps us to party from Friday evening till Sunday,” says a party hopper.

“Cocaine is very expensive. One gm pack of cocaine can cost around Rs 5,000 to Rs7,000 in the local market. Cocaine is more expensive than heroin. It looks as if the demand for cocaine is increasing in Chennai,” noted a police officer. Senior city police officers admitted that they have no separate wing to look for narcotics but that they do act if there is a tip-off. The state police have a narcotics intelligence bureau and the narcotics control bureau is a Central agency. Both look for big catches while the city police action ends with the seizure of a few kgs of ganja here and there.

According to sources, African students staying in the city suburbs operate cocaine cells which supply drugs to local users. They procure it from bigger suppliers sitting in Mumbai.
They deliver the contraband to college students and party hoppers through local agents. Delivery is at malls, star hotels and rave parties at beach houses on East Coast Road, and even big houses in posh localities in the city.

“If one man is caught, the cartel will send another man to take over the contact and network so that the supply chain is not broken,” said an officer familiar with narcotics operations.Most new users get introduced to the agents through the party circuit. You register your mobile number in a group mail and the agents contact you.They will tell you where to deliver the cash. After you pay the money, the agent will call you again and tell you where to collect the stuff.

Nigerian held with Rs12 Lakh worth cocaine

Sleuths of the narcotics control bureau (NCB) on Wednesday night arrested a Nigerian national from his rented premises in Ennore for possessing Rs 12 lakh worth cocaine, weighing around 190 gm. The arrested was identified as Izuoba Augustine Chibuike. He had been supplying the narcotics to a select group of clients across the city for the last six months.

“We searched his premises based on information and caught him with the cocaine. We believe he was overstaying with an expired visa. We could not trace his passport or visa,” said Prem Anand Sinha, Chennai zonal director, NCB.

“The seized contraband was brought from the western part of India to Chennai and he was indulging in drug peddling activities in and around Chennai to his regular customers,” the official added.
This is the fourth arrest of foreign national in the city during the last three years for engaging in the supply of narcotics to customers. In February this year, NCB had arrested a Ghana national, Kuami Ebeniser, in city for possession of 160 gm of cocaine.