Rishi Raj Singh warns of spread of narcotic drugs

KOCHI: The sale of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances (NDPS) is spreading fast in Kerala with  aggressive marketing following the curbs on the sale of liquor. Excise Commissioner Rishi Raj Singh told reporters here on Thursday that bulk of the synthetic drugs reaching Kerala was  being sourced from places such as Goa and Mumbai. “There is a definite case of more people taking to drugs and these figures paint a frightening picture of the  grip of drugs on the young.  As per the National Crime Records Bureau, Kochi stands second only to Amritsar in terms of the highest number of drug abuse cases in the country,’’ he said.

The excise department in Kerala has registered about 3,600 cases under the NDPS Act since June 2016 and arrested 3,900 persons in this connection. During the period, the department also carried out 1.27 lakh raids, registered 23,600 abkari cases and made 22, 000 arrests. Mr Singh said narcotic rackets operating in the state are targeting mainly youngsters and migrant labourers who together comprised nearly 70 lakh of the state’s total population. The volume of synthetic drugs seized over the last 10 months includes 135 gm of brown sugar, 2,573 nitrocepam tablets, in addition to 813 kg of ganja and 2,892 ganja plants. He  also revealed a sharp rise in cases connected with bootlegging and illicit liquor. The volume of Indian Made Foreign Liquor seized stood around 34,600 litres, in addition to 1.48 lakh litres of vash, 10,200 litres of toddy and 22,200 litres of arishtam.