If public awareness campaigns are indicators of messaging going hand-in-hand with policing, August 11, 2022, was a significant day in the Tamil Nadu police’s battle against ganja. Chief Minister M.K. Stalin administered a pledge against drug abuse to 74 lakh students simultaneously in educational institutions across the State. It is well known that killing demand is the best way to choke off supply.
The event was organised as part of ‘Enakku Vendaam’ (I don’t need it), a mass awareness programme organised by the Enforcement Bureau of the Tamil Nadu police, to sensitise youth to the dangers of drug abuse.
This massive awareness programme, involving students who are considered the most vulnerable to drug abuse, was followed up with the creation of 14,000 anti-drug clubs in schools/colleges. Thousands of students who became members of these clubs are involved in a variety of literary, cultural and other activities to sensitise members of the public to the dangers of drugs.
Notably, the police have taken a holistic approach, with the Enforcement Bureau involving the Health, Revenue, Sports and Youth Development and Social Welfare Departments in the mission to eradicate drugs and pave the way for Tamil Nadu to emerge as a drug-free State. This was recognised as one of the best practices by the Narcotics Control Bureau at the national level, says Mahesh Kumar Aggarwal, Additional Director-General of Police, Crime.
Embarking on a three-pronged strategy — Control supply, Curtail demand and Harm reduction — the Enforcement Bureau went on to conduct awareness programmes at 7,000 traffic junctions on the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking on June 26 this year.
“As part of the anti-drug club activities, we engage counsellors to educate the students at regular intervals on the dangers of abuse. While this reduces the demand, stringent measures are taken to control the supply. Thousands of habitual ganja sellers have been arrested in the last two years and many have been detained under the Goondas Act,” Mr. Aggarwal says. The Drive Against Drugs (DAD) is being reviewed every month.
Native drug
Ganja has been the most prevalent addictive drug used in Tamil Nadu. However, thanks to the sustained efforts of law-enforcement agencies, the State is reportedly maintaining zero cultivation in the last five years.
Police sources explain, in an effort to indicate how far the long arm of ganja reaches, those accused in a majority of grave crimes were under the influence of either alcohol or ganja, or both. In almost all the prisons, ganja is one of the most smuggled goods as there is a huge demand and business behind the walls.
The suppliers make a beeline for the youth who are more prone to addiction, especially in semi-urban and rural areas where awareness is yet to reach.
While ganja was known for being smuggled across the State borders, the recent seizures along the coastline, investigators say, point to the contraband being moved to neighbouring Sri Lanka for consumption there and further transshipment to other countries.
“As part of the anti-drug club activities, we engage counsellors to educate students at regular intervals on the dangers of abuse. While this reduces the demand, stringent measures are taken to control the supply”Mahesh Kumar AggarwalAdditional Director-General of Police, Crime
At present, the weed is being trafficked to Tamil Nadu mainly from Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, and north-eastern States. “Andhra Pradesh is the main source of ganja for Tamil Nadu. In order to curtail the supply, coordinated measures have been taken in the recent past. This issue of trafficking of ganja from the neighbouring State was taken up in various fora and at the meeting of the DGPs of the southern States. In pursuance of our efforts, ‘Operation Parivartan’ was launched by the Andhra Pradesh police and ganja cultivated on thousands of acres was destroyed,” Mr. Aggarwal said.
After the police intensified vigil and launched combing operations more frequently, the habitual offenders changed their modus operandi. They started smuggling ganja in small quantities through trains, instead of by road. The police then conducted surprise checks on trains originating from Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, and north-eastern States and seized over 2,300 kg of ganja in recent months.
Ganja chocolates
While ganja is usually sold as crushed dry leaves for consumption, the police came across ganja chocolates sold in Coimbatore and Tiruppur. A few suspects with links to drug peddlers in Uttar Pradesh were found to be involved in the business targeting youth, mostly students, who frequent rave parties. Investigators say the chocolates are laced with a small quantity of ganja oil to trigger intoxication. The racket was busted and the operators were sent to jail, according to a police update.
Former Director-General of Police C. Sylendra Babu launched a State-wide operation called ‘Ganja Vettai’ (ganja hunt) and instructed the police to conduct searches at all vulnerable locations. This also resulted in the seizure of a huge quantity of ganja. Since June 2021, the police registered 20,040 cases and arrested 27,476 persons. More than 54,000 kg of ganja, worth ₹67.64 crore, was seized.
Considering the hazardous nature of the drugs, vulnerability to theft and constraints of storage space, the then Chennai Police Commissioner and present DGP, Shankar Jiwal, formed a Drug Disposal Committee, headed by Joint Commissioner of Police, North, R.V. Ramya Bharathi. The committee was tasked with disposing of drugs, including ganja and methamphetamine, seized under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act.
The first such mass destruction was carried out on June 25, 2022, when 1,075 kg of ganja was destroyed at a private incinerator unit. Early this week, the incinerator destroyed 1,215 kg of ganja, 1.25 kg of methamphetamine and 40 grams of heroin. Investigators are also focussing on getting the drug peddlers convicted, officers add.
Ms. Bharathi says the police don’t stop with arresting the drug peddlers who usually transport small quantities of ganja. “We try to reach the main supplier and apprehend him/her as that is the only way to cut the supply chain. Catching small peddlers will not make any difference. Going after the entire network and the kingpin matters more... that is the reason why we have a 100% increase in the quantum of seizures and more number of people arrested.”
Smuggling of ganja has persisted in the central region, comprising nine districts, despite periodic drives, if the large cache of contraband confiscated by the police this year is any indication. Over 1,000 kg of ganja, worth over ₹70 lakh, has been seized across the region since January this year.
In Pudukkottai district, over 350 kg of ganja was found recently in various packets which were concealed beneath gunny bags containing vegetables in a freight carrier bearing an Andhra Pradesh registration number.
The demand for the weed seems to have created a well-organised network with the kingpins exploiting the poverty of locals by offering them a lump sum to act as carriers, say the police, adding that easy money prompts these people to agree to commit the crime.
Coastal Nagapattinam district is one of the key routes for smuggling of ganja and other narcotic substances to Sri Lanka, given its proximity to the island nation. Networks that operate from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh transport large consignments to Nagapattinam for further transshipment by sea, the police said.
To monitor and counter the smuggling of narcotic substances, the police and the Coastal Security Group have formed Village Vigilance Committees in each coastal village in Nagapattinam district.
A group of locals has been handpicked from each village to serve as volunteers to assist the police in creating awareness against the sale and smuggling of ganja and report its illegal movement. Nearly 40 to 50 such committees have been functioning in the district.
The Nagapattinam police have also activated a dedicated helpline for members of the public to report illicit sale of drugs. Awareness programmes have been conducted regularly throughout the district, particularly in educational institutions, said Harsh Singh, Superintendent of Police, Nagapattinam. He added that the police were working closely with other intelligence agencies in tracing the history-sheeters, and kingpins, associated with the illegal trade and absconding for long.
Financial investigation
In the last two years, the police are not confining ganja cases to arrest and seizures, but taking the next step of attaching bank balance/properties of the suspects by considering them as the proceeds of the crime.
A financial investigation is being done to ascertain the value of assets of those arrested and their close relatives and others suspected to have helped them in accumulation of moveable and immovable wealth through the proceeds of ganja sales.
“We try to reach the main supplier and apprehend him/her as that is the only way to cut the supply chain. Catching small peddlers will not make any difference”R.V. Ramya BharathiJoint Commissioner of Police, Chennai North
“The police are also taking the assistance of PWD and Revenue Department officials to assess the properties. Theni, Dindigul and Madurai districts were the first in the State to take up the financial investigation,” says Inspector-General of Police, South Zone, Asra Garg.
After the freezing of properties started, the support system for the accused within the family started to crumble. In the last few months till May, the police in 10 southern districts, including the Tirunelveli City Police, have seized properties worth ₹14 crore belonging to 13 notorious ganja-peddlers. These included houses, plots, parcels of land and commercial buildings.
Timely charge sheet
“We ensured that all the drug-related cases got chargesheeted within 170 days so that those arrested do not get bail. Many of the notorious ganja peddlers are in jail for more than a year now,” Mr. Asra Garg explains.
The police also expanded the geographical area of their investigation beyond the boundaries of the State and arrested more than 20 people from Odisha and Andhra Pradesh. In one case, in which 1,200 kg of ganja was seized at Andipatti, a police team went to Odisha and arrested the kingpin who was supplying ganja to nearly eight States.
The Madurai City Police hunted down five persons from Odisha and Andhra Pradesh who were involved in two major seizures, of 950 kg and 2,090 kg, of ganja, Commissioner of Police K.S. Narenthiran Nayar said.
(With inputs from R. Sivaraman in Chennai; R. Rajaram and N. Sai Charan in Tiruchi; and S. Sundar in Madurai)
