Concerns raised as more local youths take to heroin

Kochi: The amount of heroin seized so far this year has exceeded the total seizure of the drug last year in Ernakulam. Excise department data shows that Ernakulam records the highest amount of heroin seizures, with all other districts, except Kozhikode, recording less than 50grams of the seized drug.Rural police have seized 680grams of heroin this year so far while the total seizure last year was 750 grams. Excise department too seized 124grams of heroin from Jan to March this year.Heroin, which previously was mostly used by the migrant population, is now being consumed by Keralites too, sources said.“We have come across cases of Malayali youngsters taking the impure version of heroin or brown sugar. If migrant workers mix it in substances like lime juice to inject it, these youngsters are using distilled water and are smart enough not to share needles. However, such injections can cause dangerous conditions like deep vein thrombosis (DVT), besides the dangerous effects from heroin,” said Francis Moothedan, project director of the rehabilitation centre for addicts at MOSC Medical College Hospital.A senior police officer in Perumbavoor said with the return of migrant workers, who had left for Assam and West Bengal due to elections, they were on alert expecting a spike in drug smuggling. “Smugglers are likely to take advantage of the sudden influx of migrants by either making the workers carriers or smuggling it posing as migrant workers. We are on alert and inspections are being held at railway and bus stations,” said the officer.The drug, which originates in Myanmar, is mostly being smuggled into Ernakulam from Assam.Heroin, mostly used as an injectable drug, poses a double threat as it can cause side effects and a spread in diseases like AIDS due to sharing of needles.With state police set to launch Operation Toofan to root out drug menace, Moothedan said there should be a change in approach over how the cases were handled.“It is high time that police stop seeing drug users with stigma. First-time users, especially those under the age of 21, need to be seen with compassion. The support of an expert should be taken to rehabilitate them. We need to break the chain where users are branded as a miscreants, eventually pushing them into peddling. The youngsters need to be brought back into the mainstream, not punished,” said Moothedan.NCRB’s 2024 report shows that Kochi city recorded 2,475 cases under NDPS Act. However, 2,338 (95%) of total NDPS cases were linked to possession of drugs for personal consumption. The number of cases for trafficking was only 137.