Op Toofan: Perumbavoor emerges as heroin hotspot

Kochi: Perumbavoor has emerged as a hotspot for substance abuse, with police arresting 27 people with heroin under a single police station limit in less than four weeks as part of Operation Toofan.

Though it was known that penetration of drugs in Perumbavoor with a sizable population of migrant workers was high, the frequent drives as part of Operation Toofan unraveled its gravity.As per records, all 27 arrested persons were migrants: 24 hailed from Assam and one each from Tamil Nadu, Arunachal Pradesh and West Bengal. Police have been conducting surprise inspections and combing operations across Perumbavoor town after visuals of addicts injecting heroin in public were widely shared on social media.Experts warn that heroin poses a danger far more severe than ganja or even MDMA. Though migrants comprise majority of those caught, Keralite youths have also started abusing the drug due to its ready availability in the region.Francis Moothedan, project director of the rehabilitation centre for addicts and senior counsellor at MOSC Medical College Hospital, Kolenchery, said that Malayali youngsters have begun seeking help for heroin addiction, which is dangerous.

“Heroin is highly addictive and those who abuse it experience severe withdrawal symptoms. This could explain why some are abusing it even in public. Once withdrawal sets in, they don’t care about the consequences — they just need a fix,” he said.“People who use it regularly can’t go without it. They may experience excruciating pain without it and hence become aggressive. Some of them may even show criminal tendencies,” he added.While MDMA can cause psychosis, it is not as addictive as heroin. “Heroin is an opioid, while MDMA is a stimulant and hallucinogen. Usually, MDMA doesn’t cause dependence to the same extent as heroin. Heroin is severely addictive,” said Moothedan.The spike in heroin cases in Perumbavoor is highly significant, especially when most other stations in the district are registering majority of cases relating to small-quantity ganja seizures.

Till June 26, of 382 cases registered in Kochi, 134 involved seizure of ganja beedis, according to police data.A senior Perumbavoor police officer said while the 27 heroin seizures involved small quantities, the station also seized 1.16kg of hybrid ganja and 33kg of regular ganja in two separate cases.“The heroin users we arrested are procuring it from Assam and West Bengal. For a lasting solution, we need to track each of these cases back to those states. However, it is not practical as we are stretched thin in terms of resources. Presently, we are conducting a comprehensive crackdown to limit the trade of this drug locally,” said the officer.