Anti-narcotics squads zero in on more drug hotspots in Kerala’s Kozhikode

Special inspection drive underway in view of Christmas and New Year celebrations

With an updated list of drug pushers based on the confidential information from trusted public sources, the District Anti-Narcotics Special Action Force (DANSAF) has resumed its flash inspections around the newly identified drug hotspots in Kozhikode city limits in Kerala.

The intensified checking, launched in view of the Christmas and New Year season, will enlist the support of the local police too for tracking the drug addicts around such spots who are reportedly colluding with their inter-State counterparts to expand the illegal sales network to interior areas. 

“Last month, we registered 15 major drug trafficking cases in Kozhikode city limits. Within the last 10 days alone, we exposed six similar incidents. Our late-night inspections in suspected drug hotspots based on confidential information have been very effective to bust the drug pushers’ network,” said a senior police officer with the DANSAF under the Kozhikode city police.

He said a dedicated WhatsApp number – 9995966666 – had already been made available for the public to exchange confidential videos, photographs and the details of suspected locations for spot action against drug abuse and trafficking. 

As part of the intensified drive, the DANSAF and local police squads were able to seize about 3 kg of MDMA and 45 grams of brown sugar in three separate operations on Tuesday alone. C.A. Mohammed, 28, S.B. Althaf, 22, C.P. Fasir, 37, and P.K. Shahida Banu, 32 were the four suspects who were arrested in connection with the three different incidents. They were reportedly linked to the inter-State drug supply rackets based in Bengaluru. 

Confidential informants

Sub-Inspectors who coordinate the newly launched ‘No, Never’ anti-drug awareness campaigns said they were receiving warm response from the general public, schoolchildren and college students in exchanging valuable information for legal action. They also revealed that the number of confidential informants witnessed a considerable increase which helped special squads identify more hotspots.

“The forfeiture of properties and the freezing of bank accounts, owned by drug pushers earlier arrested in connection with major drug trafficking cases, are in full swing now to send a strong message to the society. Forfeiture of properties has already been recommended against seven more persons in Kozhikode city,” said a senior Civil Police Officer with the DANSAF squad.

He said the bank account of a 33-year-old youth, who was involved in a major MDMA smuggling case, was frozen on Tuesday blocking the future transaction of about ₹1.45 lakh. 

The police have already submitted the details of several frequent offenders involved in grave narcotic cases to the Chennai-based Appellate Tribunal under the Smugglers and Foreign Exchange Manipulators (Forfeiture of Property) Act for stronger action. This is apart from the legal actions initiated against many others invoking the Prevention of Illicit Traffic in Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (PIT-NDPS) Act seeking one-year imprisonment. Police sources confirm that an official order is expected shortly in the case of four persons.

Published - December 11, 2024 12:58 pm IST