NDPS cases decline in district after months of steady rise

Thiruvananthapuram: After a surge in the number of cases registered by the excise department under Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substance (NDPS) Act in the past few months in the district, there has been a decline in the number of cases reported in January and February.
The excise department officials claim that the surge in the number of cases registered in the past months was due to the intense drive held as part of the state-wide efforts launched by the state government to curb the flow of drugs into the state. The officers believe that the unflinching and uncompromised stance taken by the department against the drug mafia had resulted in the rise of number of cases being registered.
During the period between September 16 and October 31 the excise department had registered as many as 112 NDPS cases with a seizure of 47 gram of MDMA and 24.5 kg of ganja. In November and December NDPS cases were 44 and 62 respectively. It came down further to 32 cases in January and less than 15 cases in February so far.
There has been a declining trend even in the number of people arrested in the NDPS cases registered in the district. A total of 125 persons were arrested between the periods of September 16 to October 31 over various NDPS cases, and the figures were 43, 69 and 40 in November, December and January respectively. In February, the number of arrests so far stands below 10.
Alarmed by the reports that the drug mafia was targeting school students to promote the drug trade, the state machineries acted timely and effectively against the threat they posed. “The decline in the number of cases registered does not mean that there is a drop in drug users in the district. But, if we intensify the inspections, the number of cases will go high definitely. With the existing staff strength, we cannot continue the special drives. During the drive, we used the support of staff from other offices, and it cannot be continued in the long run,” said Vinod Kumar, assistant excise commissioner.
All the MDMA seized during this period were bought from Bengaluru, the officer said. “Some African nationals, who are in Bengaluru for studies, allegedly make MDMA using ketamine, an anesthetic used for medical purposes. Adding various chemicals and processing the ketamine in certain ways, these students make MDMA. The system in Bengaluru is not effective in curbing the massive and open drug trade,” Vinod Kumar alleged.