Excise, police to hold joint inspection at Perumathura

Thiruvananthapuram: The excise department and the local police are all set to conduct a joint inspection at Perumathura in view of the reports that there has been an alarming rise in drug usage among youngsters in the locality.
Recently, a 17-year-old boy died due to cerebral haemorrhage allegedly caused by excess usage of drugs. Following this incident there was a huge demand from the residents of the area to arrest the drug mafia operating in the panchayat.
The police officers at Kadinamkulam station said they have received a request from the excise department for the joint operation at Perumathura. “We have not fixed the date for the inspection. But it will be carried out soon,” said the police officers. According to the police, there are hundreds of NDPS cases registered in which youngsters from Perumathura are the accused.
Assistant Excise Commissioner Vinod Kumar has said that there are many unreported cases of deaths of youngsters due to excess usage of drugs in the district. “Conducting raids alone will not be a solution for the menace, but it must be backed by proper awareness as well. However, we are ready to launch a massive drive to put an end to this menace,” said the commissioner.
“Most of the youngsters here use drugs publicly and the excise and police are inactive in curbing this nuisance. There is a drug mafia operating here and they supply ganja, MDMA and other drugs to the youths. I had informed the police about their activities before, and for the same I was brutally assaulted by the drug mafia. I am ready to give the names of the youngsters who supply drugs here. It is an open secret here how they operate and where they stock the stuff,” said Nasseha N, former ward member of Perumathura and a social activist.