VD Satheesan
| Photo Credit: R.K. Nithin
Kerala’s Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan has accused the Excise and the police of “finding an easy target in hapless and vulnerable drug addicts instead of netting the big fish in the narcotic trade.”
He told a news conference at Aluva in Ernakulam on Saturday that the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government’s “much-hyped” anti-narcotics enforcement drive had “missed the forest for the trees.”
Mr Satheesan commented against the backdrop of the police summons to actor Shine Tom Chacko after the latter absconded from a hotel in Kochi during an anti-narcotic raid recently.
Mr Satheesan said drug addicts required sympathetic counselling, de-addiction and rehabilitation. “Currently, officers find easy targets in people with an addiction who relapse into their old ways when released on bail from prison. The sad cycle keeps repeating while the real traffickers walk free”, he said.
Mr Satheesan accused the government of dismally failing to squeeze narcotic supply chains, chiefly transnational networks which inject potentially lethal synthetic drugs into domestic circulation in Kerala.
Instead, he alleged that the government relied on propaganda and publicity campaigns to create an impression that law enforcement was serious about saving the people from the synthetic drug menace.
Actionable intelligence
Mr Satheesan said law enforcers find it convenient to visit schools and colleges and make highfalutin speeches about the drug menace.
Instead, he said, they should devote themselves to the time-consuming, risky and uphill task of developing actionable intelligence by infiltrating entrenched networks and interdicting drugs trafficked in trade quantities.
Mr Satheesan said the police and the Excise “seek cover” behind awareness campaigns and administering anti-narcotic oaths in public to create an appearance of cracking down on narcotics.
Mr Satheesan said law enforcers should leave such tasks to social and political organisations and the Health, Social Welfare, and Education departments.
He said synthetic drugs appeared to have pervaded all walks of life in the State, and the entertainment industry was no exception.
He said drugs were freely available even in the remotest part of Kerala. A significant section of the population, especially teenagers and school students, was particularly vulnerable to the drug menace.
Mr Satheesan also accused the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] of providing political cover to gangs involved in drug trafficking.
Published – April 19, 2025 12:14 pm IST
