As the Kochi police clean up the city through the month-long anti-crime drive ‘Operation Duster’, cops are also penetrating drug cartels which have taken to social media platforms like Facebook and WhatsApp to supply banned drugs for rave parties during the festive season.
The city police have so far managed to arrest 3 people linked to online drug mafia.
A police officer told TOI, “They were very strict with the criteria for adding a customer to the group and were adding them only when another member introduces the person.”
The report also added that the drug mafia used to charge Rs 10, 000 as entry fee to join the groups and the drugs would be supplied through these groups for up to a week.
Meanwhile the city police have also collected information regarding the secret rave parties to be organized in the city ahead of the festive season. According to the police, rave parties are also organized in a similar fashion through creating online groups using platforms like Facebook.
A police officer said that, “Our squad members managed to get into WhatsApp groups for holding secret rave parties such as ‘Casino Nights’, ‘Heaven for Earth’ and ‘A Walk in the Cloud’, posing as customers. Based on the information we have arrested three persons and seized sizable drugs from them including buprenorphine ampoules and nitrazepam pills,” reported Deccan Chronicle.
Devan alias ‘Kurudi’ (24) was arrested on Wednesday from Elamakkara based on information from a WhatsApp group. Two others Manikandan (42), a native of Kanyakumari and Suresh (38) of Nagercoil were held the other day as part of the drive.
Media reports had surfaced prior to this as to how drug peddlers had made Kochi their bustling business centre in Kerala. Media reports say that the drug culture, which was kept under wraps for years, became more prominent in 2010 and gradually gained a strong foothold in Kerala.
A steady rise in the registration of cases under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS) has also been seen. Police officials had earlier confirmed that more than 500 cases related to drug trafficking have been registered in which 648 persons were allegedly involved, revealing that reveals that Kochi is becoming a hub of global drug mafia.