Kerala ganja sends up swirls in Sri Lanka
Ganja from Kerala, especially Idukki, was in much demand in the international market.
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala is hitting the headlines in Sri Lanka quite often for the wrong reason-- ganja smuggling.
Even as the excise officials in Kerala maintain that no mass ganja cultivation is taking place in any part of the state these days, a series of seizures of 'Kerala ganja' has been reported in Sri Lanka over the last few years. In the last couple of months alone, the Sri Lankan police and navy reportedly seized over 300 kilogram of ganja, labelled as ‘Kerala ganja,’ from various parts of that country.
Meanwhile, excise commissioner Rishi Raj Singh told DC that the chances of 'Kerala ganja' being seized in Sri Lanka were very remote as no mass ganja cultivation was taking place in any part of the state these days, even in Idukki. "Odisha, Telengana and Andhra Pradesh are the major places of mass ganja cultivation these days and mostly Naxals or ex-Naxals are involved in it. From there, it is being smuggled to Kerala through Tamil Nadu," he said.
Ganja from Kerala, especially Idukki, was in much demand in the international market. Hence, the chances of faking ganja from other parts of the country as Kerala ganja could not be ruled out, he added.
Customs sources said that the chances of smuggling through the western coast were very remote now, especially owing to the thick population. Hence, smuggling activities to Colombo might be taking place from the eastern coast of Tamil Nadu.