Seizures of hypnotic drugs add to city’s narcotic menace

Repeated seizures of prescription drugs with hypnotic qualities from alleged peddlers have added to the concerns over the persisting drug menace in the city. While four ampoules of suspected lorazepam injection were seized from two youths by the Excise from Aluva on Wednesday (February 11), two days later, the enforcement agency nabbed another youth from near Kaloor with 80 gm of suspected nitrazepam tablets.

In the first incident, the Excise arrested Anoop K.K., 40, and Prabhakaran Manivilasom, 31, both from Aluva, with the lorazepam ampoules and syringes while allegedly waiting to hand over the drugs to a customer near Aluva private bus stand. In the other incident, the Excise arrested Faisal Naser, 33, of Chullikkal, Mattanchery, from a lodge near Kaloor with the nitrazepam tablets. The Excise also confiscated 0.63 gm of suspected MDMA from him.

The Excise had last year seized 30.77 gm of nitrazepam and 126 gm of lorazepam from the district in different cases. The Kochi City police, meanwhile, seized 346 nitrazepam tablets and 65 lorazepam ampoules from the district last year.

Both drugs fall under the Benzodiazepine category of drugs used for treating conditions such as anxiety and insomnia, and can cause serious health disorders if constantly abused.

Excise officials said that they suspect peddlers source the drugs mostly from Bengaluru, where they are easily available at cheap rates. “We suspect users turn to such pharmaceutical drugs when they find it difficult to source other, more powerful synthetic drugs. That the legal consequences are less severe compared to seizure of other synthetic drugs could also be encouraging the peddlers and users,” a district excise officer said.

Anoop Vincent, president, Kerala State branch, Indian Psychiatric Society, pointed to cases of fake prescriptions being used to purchase the drugs.

The Excise officer said medical shops have been alerted to inform law enforcement if anybody approaches them for such drugs without prescriptions or if they have any doubts over the authenticity of a prescription.