Ganja peddlers go underground in Thiruvananthapuram

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: With new Excise Commissioner Rishiraj Singh demanding each excise office  to register at least a case daily, the ganja peddling business in most areas in the city has  been temporarily hit. As per officials and sources, the ganja trade has hit a nadir compared to past few months. However, the quality of cases being registered is a concern for officials who want big smugglers to be targeted and framed.

“There was brisk ganja trade at Attakulangara, Peroorkada and Edappazhinji until last week. Most of the peddlers here were youngsters on bikes who procure ganja from another retailer. With a few arrests, all of them have gone underground. They know that the excise is stretching itself to the maximum,” said a yesteryear peddler in the city.

The excise officials who are trying to improve the number of cases are concerned about the quality of cases it registers now. The effectiveness with which arrested peddlers can be framed is also a matter of concern. “There are carriers who were caught by our men for the fourth or sixth time with over a kilogram of ganja. Even before  recording their arrests, some eminent advocates contacted us to release them. Their information network is good and all carriers are guaranteed quick release from jail by their kingpins in Tamil Nadu,” said a senior excise official.  

Earlier this week, in a rare show of strength, the excise, with the help of state police intelligence crossed the border and arrested a wholesale ganja seller from Cumbum, Tamil Nadu. The man identified as Shankili carries  huge stocks of ganja to Tamil Nadu from Andhra Pradesh. This is eventually sold to peddlers in the city.

“Usually, these smugglers get good local help. However, this time we got good support from Tamil Nadu police. We had gone with a huge force,” the official added.    The excise officials have been virtually warned of punitive action  if they fail to conduct more raids and register more cases.