Need to be vigilant, as city is transit hub for narcotics

Chennai is a major transit hub for the movement of ganja and other drugs largely due to its location and accessibility by air and road. Many coastal districts are convenient points for drug drops –but in the case of Chennai, excellent road, rail and air connectivity make it a drug peddler’s paradise and compound the problem. 

In fact, India is often called the Golden Peacock because it is a convenient intersection for drug traffic. Although a good amount of ganja is produced in Madhya Pradesh, legally, a vast quantity of illegal drugs make their way to Chennai from other centres. 

The trade route is a vast line—from Chennai, ganja and other drugs are diverted to Sri Lanka and the Far East. It is also headed back to Afghanistan (where drugs are either produced or their passage facilitated); a separate line leads to Nepal, from where drugs are routed to other countries. 

Both the quantity and quality are often of very high grade and the money involved is staggering. What is worrying is that in recent years, the drug cartel has been offloading a portion of the drugs meant for international market in the city. 

The aim is enslave the youth many of whom today are well-heeled with a huge disposable income. Some of the drug is earmarked for college students—sometimes even students in upmarket schools are targeted—and are sold at small shops where is there is brisk business through the day and is patronised by ordinary people—men, women and children who come in search of bread, biscuits, a banana or a cup of tea, toffees etc. 

At one point of time Selaiyur was the centre for drug-dealing. Now it has spread to areas like Shollinganallur and other emerging areas of the city where development is arriving at a fast pace. 

The sale points in these areas are innocuous and unless one is trained to spot these places, authorities could miss them. Drug peddlers are targeting college students and other youngsters who work hard and party hard. They are also using affordable pricing to attract the youngsters, who are then enslaved. 

Gradually, the price goes up and students are at a loss to handle the huge problem of dependency. In their innocence, many youngsters think they are into a harmless fun thing. In fact this is a huge shadow economy. 

The National Intelligence Bureau is aware of the growing problem, and their intelligence wing is constantly looking to trap the source and the courier. One problem faced by this central agency is that cutting off the supply line is not very easy, but is actually a vexatious one. The consignment is often sent through inter-state commercial vehicle drivers. 

Once a driver is identified or nabbed, the smugglers quickly change the drivers. They are able to do it since they have a vast network. The state police can only take action at the sale point. What they need is more intelligence information, on where, how and when the drugs are being transported. 

We need to be constantly vigilant in tracking the movement of drugs. When I was heading the prisons, I was constantly up against under-trials who would smuggle in ganja whenever they went for a court appearance. Like a magician’s sleight of hand, the consignment has the potential to go up in ‘smoke’ (pun intended).  Constant vigil and excellent intelligence reports are key to tackling the drug menace.