In the biggest synthetic drug bust in Kollam, a person was arrested with 80 grams of MDMA in a raid conducted by the excise special squad at Kundara on Thursday. Amal, a 25-year-old resident of Karikuzhi, was arrested as part ‘Operation Friends’, a special drive launched by the department to track drug exchanges among youngsters. The aim is to curb the use of new-gen drugs that is on the rise among teenagers and college students.
Tip-off received
The department had sought the help of excise cybercell to track the activities of individuals and gangs involved in drug trade. Amal is one of the main narcotic distributors in the district, officials said. The operation was conducted following a tip-off received by Kollam Deputy Excise Commissioner B. Suresh. The gang was under excise surveillance for the past 20 days.
As part of ‘Operation Friends’ a shadow team led by special squad inspector B. Vishnu had infiltrated the gang, finding out their areas and working patterns in the past two weeks. During interrogation, the accused said he had been buying MDMA from Bengaluru and that the intermediary was a Tamil Nadu native settled in Bengaluru. He used to pay ₹2,000 for one gram of MDMA and later sold it in small packets for ₹4,000. According to officials, he opted for trains and interstate buses for smuggling the drug.
Rigorous imprisonment, fine
Kollam Assistant Excise Commissioner V. Robert said a detailed probe will be conducted to find others involved in the gang and their interstate links. Of late the department had arrested a handful of people with Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), a synthetic drug also known as X and ecstasy. As per the provisions of Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS), more than 10 grams of MDMA is considered commercial quantity and possession of it is punishable with rigorous imprisonment of 10 to 20 years and a fine. The excise team included preventive officers M. Manoj Lal, M.S. Girish, R. Manu, and civil excise officers.
