Mangaluru Police Commissioner N. Shashi Kumar on Monday asked youth to keep themselves away from drug abuse.
Participating as a guest speaker at a webinar on creating awareness on drug abuse jointly organised by the Central Excise and Central Taxes (GST) and Customs Commissionerates of Mangaluru, the Police Commissioner said that youth are most susceptible to drug abuse and some students are also part of drug racket either as peddlers or consumers.
Anti-social elements used the money earned through the drug racket to fund illegal activities. Drugs can directly lead to various types of offences in public spaces such as nuisance and since the abuser is under influence of drugs, it can lead to petty crimes such as theft, robbery and to even serious crimes such as murder.
Drug addicts have very high chances of going into depression, Mr. Kumar said and added that youth should come together to eradicate drug menace from society.
The webinar was organised to commemorate 75 years of Independence. Around 500 students from 15 colleges spread across Dakshina Kannada, Udupi and Uttara Kannada and officers of Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), Mangaluru, including Customs, CGST, DRI, DGGI, Audit and PAO, attended the session.
Speaking on the occasion, Commissioner of Central Excise, Central Taxes (GST) and Customs, Mangaluru Imamuddin Ahmad explained the challenges the country is facing, mainly because of its location between the world’s two largest areas of illicit opium production — the Golden Crescent and the Golden Triangle.
He spoke about the ill-effects of the three main drugs — heroin, cannabis and cocaine — on the human body.
The connection between drugs and organised crime, terrorism and insurgency were also explained to the college students in a crisp manner. Elaborating on the various steps taken to curb the drug menace, he gave details of the steps taken at international and national level. He also applauded the noteworthy work in drug seizures done by DRI and Customs all over the country.
Joint Commissioner of Customs Joannes George spoke.
