KOZHIKODE: The city police has broken the drug peddlers' network by netting countless small-scale peddlers as well as mid-level marketers through systematic investigation. Last year, 359 persons were arrested in 321 cases under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985, according to the data of the city narcotic cell. This month the police seized 55 kilograms of ganja and one kg of brown sugar. Costly drugs like LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide), cocaine, hashish and brown sugar are being widely used now. A party drug, LSD, which was rare drug among youngsters earlier, has become common among elite DJ groups. It is an odourless, colourless and tasteless drug.
The police had first reported LSD cases in the city in 2011. A drug much stronger than heroine and brown sugar, an LSD sheet would have eighty to hundred shots in the form of circle, triangle or square. Priced at Rs 1,000 to Rs 1,200, the drug is known in pet names like 'blotter,' 'acid' and 'purple heart.' The Panniyankara police station tops the chart of drug abuse cases (48) followed by Medical College (41). The drug is finding its way particularly in the mushrooming 'self-financing' professional colleges in the district.
Narcotics cell assistant commissioner A.J. Babu told DC that the latest strategy of the drug peddlers was to camp in elite coffee shops, ice cream parlours and other reputed places, cultivate a rapport with the elite youth and gradually initiate them to the world of drugs. There are peddlers who specialise in the sale of costly drugs like LSD, hashish and cocaine, he said. "Earlier, only those who participated in rave parties in Goa and Bangalore came back with small quantities of drugs and distributed them among pals. Now the mid-level sellers have surfaced catering directly to the needy," he pointed out. "The recurring raids, arrests and seizures have destroyed the drug network which will take time to rebuild," Mr Babu said.
