It’s Raining Ganja in Kudla! 100 kg of Cannabis/Ganja Seized in last 10 Days- Over 20 Arrested

January 14, 2023 Staff Reporter 1486 Views 0 Comments

It’s Raining Ganja in Kudla/Mangaluru! 100 kg of Cannabis/Ganja Seized in the last 10 Days in 2023- More than 20 Persons, including Doctors, Medical Students Arrested. The narcotic drugs seized were worth between Rs 40 lakh -Rs 50 lakh in the market, as per Mangaluru Police Commissioner N. Shashi Kumar

Mangaluru: The Mangaluru which is considered to be the EDUCATIONAL HUB is making headlines for the wrong reasons, with the recent arrest of over a dozen medical students pursuing Post Graduate studies in medicine, and also a couple of doctors. It is indeed a shameful thing to note that a few bad rotten apples in the basket of the medical fraternity have spoiled the image of the medical field.

During a recent briefing by Mangaluru Police Commissioner N Shashi Kumar with the media personnel he said, ” The police have registered six cases in connection with the seizure and arrests at different police stations. The narcotic drug peddling and consumption cases were detected by the Cyber, Economic and Narcotic Crimes (CEN), Central Crime Branch, Konaje and Mangaluru East Police. The narcotic drugs seized were worth between Rs 40 lakh and Rs 50 lakh in the market, by arresting more than 20 persons in the last 10 days during 2023.

” On January 12, CEN police arrested three men on charges of peddling and selling charas and ganja to students of colleges and others in Mangaluru. They were procuring the drugs from Himachal Pradesh. They seized 500 grams of charas, 1 kg of ganja, a car and mobile phones worth Rs 8 lakh from the trio. The accused were Suketh Kava alias Chukki, 33, a tour guide from Bajagoli, Karkala taluk in Udupi district; Arvind, 24, a costume designer from Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu; and Sunil, 32, a car driver from Pulkeri in Karkala, Udupi district. The accused had procured the ganja from Parvathi valley in the Kullu district of Himachal Pradesh. The accused purchased the cannabis at low cost, transported them to Mangaluru in trains, and sold them to end-users” added the Police Commissioner.
He further said, ” In a separate case detected on January 13, the CCB police arrested a person on the charge of transporting ganja in a car from Andhra Pradesh to Mangaluru via Bengaluru. They seized 10 kg of ganja, along with the car, at Kuntikana Cross in Mangaluru. The accused were Vijaya Kumar Shetty, 24, from N. R. Pura taluk in Chikmagalur district. A mobile phone and Rs 500 were also seized from him. The value of all materials, including the car, seized from him was estimated to be Rs 5.65 lakh with the value of ganja estimated to be Rs 2.55 lakh. Police had earlier booked two cases against him, one in Chikkamagaluru and another in Udupi, for a drug-related offence. He had been released from jail three months ago”.

” While some more persons wanted by police in the racket have fled from Mangaluru, so far we have arrested 15 persons in connection with the racket, including two more doctors arrested in a similar kind of drug case here. The names of the doctors are Raghava Datta, 28, a postgraduate student of anaesthesia, and Balaji, 29, who is a post-graduate in general medicine. Both are students of a reputed medical college in Mangaluru. Datta hails from 12th Cross, Venugopal Nagar, Anantapur in Andhra Pradesh, and resides in an apartment at Attavar in Mangaluru. Balaji hails from G Street, Jogupalya in Ulsoor in Bengaluru, and resides in an apartment at Falnir in Mangaluru. Of the two doctors, one is a practising doctor. He used to host small parties in his flat where he used to distribute cannabis to students and his friends. Even though a few more suspects have fled from their apartments, hostel rooms and paying guest accommodation, we will try to trace them and punish them. I urge those managing paying guest accommodation, hostels and those who have rented out their flats should keep a watch on the happenings in their premises” added the Police Commissioner.

It is learnt that this particular racket was busted with the arrest of Neel Kishorilal Ramji Shah, 38, a UK citizen of Indian origin from his apartment on Bunts Hostel Road in Mangaluru on January 7 by CCB Inspector of Police Shyam Sundar and his team. Neel Kishorilal Ramji Shah is enrolled as a student in a dental college in Mangaluru. Besides recovering 2 kg of cannabis, an electronic weighing machine, a toy pistol and other valuables from the apartment of Neel Kishorilal Ramji Shah, who revealed names of other people allegedly involved in the racket. This led to the arrest of nine more persons, including eight medicos on January 10, and three more on 12 January. The Police Commissioner has constituted a special investigation team, led by Deputy Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Anshu Kumar, with Shyam Sundar being the investigation officer to pursue the case.

And we need to compliment Police Commissioner N Shashi Kumar and his energetic team who are doing a great job in sleuthing into the drug mafia racket. Even Home Minister Araga Jnanendra praised the Mangaluru Police for taking stringent action against the drug mafia. ” Drugs-Free Karnataka is the government’s top priority,” said the HM. The HM expressed apprehensions over the involvement of medical students and doctors in peddling charges. “The Mangaluru Police’s action under the leadership of Police Commissioner N Shashi Kumar will send a strong message to the public and more people will be arrested involved in drug racket,” said Araga.

“If you want to hang out, you’ve gotta take her out, cocaine; If you want to get down, get down on the ground, cocaine; She don’t lie, she don’t lie, she don’t lie-“Cocaine!”; If you got that lose, you want to kick them blues, “cocaine!”; When your day is done, and you want to ride on cocaine; She don’t lie, she don’t lie, she don’t lie- “Cocaine!”; If your day is gone, and you want to ride on, “cocaine”; Don’t forget this fact, you can’t get it back, “cocaine”; She doesn’t lie, she doesn’t lie, she doesn’t lie- “Cocaine”- by Singer Eric Clapton; “I’m gonna smoke’a de ganja until I go blind; You know I smoke’a de ganja all a de time; Smoke’a de ganja when I’m with friends; We gonna smoke’a de ganja until the very end. Smoke’s de ganja every day;-all night long Mista…Whoo-oo Ganja ganja, Whoo-oo Ganja gun, Whoo-oo Ganja ganja, “- by Reggae singer Bob Marley.

While the above two songs are popular among the City youth, simultaneously these two songs are also getting the City youth, especially the medical and engineering students (because they have more money than other students) addicted to drugs/ganja – and with all the reports that are making headlines these days about the drug bust, Ganja bust, students being caught smoking weed etc- it clearly shows that “Namma Kudla” the Education Hub is also becoming a Haven for drugs/ganja. Yes, Mangaluru and DK have been in the news very much these days of drug trafficking and also teens/young adults/women getting addicted to alcohol and substance abuse, and some resulting in committing suicides due to depression or deaths due to overdose.

It is learnt that teenagers and women are getting hooked to alcohol and substance abuse in Mangaluru and Manipal/Udupi-the education hubs of Dakshina Kannada, and doctors attribute it to the easy availability of dope. It is learnt that the city has recorded a marked increase in incidents of ganja peddling, bringing to the fore a disturbing trend that indicates a spike in the youth falling prey to the drug. Police say every time they crack down on ganja peddlers, new gangs surface which smuggle the contraband primarily from neighbouring states, especially Goa. The data suggested that abuse of ganja has been on the rise in the city particularly among the youth. Ganja peddlers target college students as buyers as well as their agents also.

While most of the peddlers are habitual offenders with criminal records, some of them are first-time offenders who were drawn into the illegal trade as customers. “First they approach the gangs to buy ganja for their use. The gangs lure them with promises of good money and make them sell ganja gradually. This happens with college students who after a point of time start selling ganja to fellow students,” said a police officer. Although police have also tightened their vigil in the wake of the detection of ganja cultivation in the city outskirts, many say that even some of the cops also play a vital role by associating with the peddlers.

It was reported that an increasing number of teenagers/young adults in Mangaluru are getting hooked to drugs/alcohol, and doctors are worried about the situation. There is no problem with the availability of ganja in rural areas, and possibly as it is a matter of demand and supply. It is not as if drugs are being sold brazenly in broad daylight. Even if the police raid one shop and close it down for the illegal sale of smoke stuff, those who want it will find some other way to get it. Ganja is inexpensive and can be bought for a cheaper price than more expensive drugs like brown sugar, costing thousands. Social changes make it difficult to deal with such issues. Earlier, children feared parents, and teachers and elders-nowadays parents work and there is spare money that a child has access to. In dealing with and to curb substance abuse, society has to play a big role because it is very hard for the police to control the drug menace on its own.

Yes, it’s sad to note that substance abuse among teenagers/young adults are growing in Mangaluru, with smoking, trying out ganja…injecting or inhaling drugs etc etc-most of these are available illegally at shops selling cigarettes, paan shops, hostels or through agents. Users from a well-knit network and no names are mentioned as they are scared of implications. The other problem is that the parents are unaware that their children are addicted to substance abuse as they use a lot of masking behaviour. Also that they will not be home on time or they go out of town on trips with friends.

With most of the students in various professional colleges like medical, engineering, dental and other post-graduate studies are from other towns and states, and they are free without parents’ guidance or care. Also with so many call centres popping up in the city, and since many of them operate a business at night, there is ample opportunity for all these call centre employees, who are quite young, to skip work and party at pubs, beaches or private places. Only when they get into trouble or get sick, their parents will be in shock and denial. Some of them are very poor and very naive.

According to the police, the city’s status as a drug consumption centre is high because of the easy availability of ganja. “However, there is less demand for drugs like cocaine, heroin and opium as they are costly and are made available only in case of specific demand. Ganja is commonly used by smokers, drug addicts and youngsters because of its easy availability. The youth are mostly attracted to ganja and charas. Youth smoke ganja mixed with cigarettes. Women consume less as compared to men. Most students engage in ganja and cocaine.”

So what is the solution to bring the drug menace under control in the City? The Police alone can’t tackle this growing situation of drug trafficking etc, they also need public support. Yes, citizens and members of various community organizations can play an important role in stopping alcohol and substance abuse among teenagers and young adults-if you see anyone dealing with drugs/shops selling illegal smoking items or if you see someone whom you are sure is doing drugs, immediately inform the police or the concerned authorities.

Anyone with information about drug trafficking or drug dealers immediately notify the law enforcement personnel at 112 so that the concerned authorities can take quick action and grab the drug mafias. Can we the citizens join hands along with the law enforcement authorities in controlling the drug menace in the city, and thereby save some innocent lives from this deadly “disease”? Yes, we can! Or if you know anyone who is narcotics addicted you can call a member of Narcotics Anonymous in Mangaluru at 7506662028

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