Daijiworld Media Network – Mangaluru

Mangaluru, Dec 15: After Bengaluru, Mangaluru has emerged as a major centre in the expanding and dangerous narcotics network in the state. Renowned as an ‘education hub’, the coastal city has also acquired an unwelcome reputation as a growing drugs market. However, in recent months, a district-wide crackdown by the police has rattled drug peddlers, leading to visible and positive changes on the ground.

Despite this progress, dismantling a narcotics network that has spread its tentacles over the past decade remains the biggest challenge. Thousands of students from other districts and states pursue education in Mangaluru, making them, along with the wider youth population, the primary targets of drug syndicates. With road, rail, sea and air connectivity, the district has become highly conducive to drug trafficking.

Kerala link fuels uninterrupted supply

Drugs continue to be supplied unabated from Kerala, which is connected to Dakshina Kannada district by more than ten border roads and railway routes. A significant number of students from Kerala study in Mangaluru, and syndicates are exploiting this demographic to expand addiction networks locally.

In a recent random test, it was confirmed that 20 per cent of college students had consumed drugs.

“Driven by greed for money, students themselves are turning into peddlers. Local youth are also getting trapped and suffering. We have seen many such cases,” said the principal of an educational institution.

International, Mumbai and Delhi routes exposed

In March this year, Mangaluru police cracked the biggest drug case in the state, seizing MDMA worth Rs 75 crore and arresting two South African women in Bengaluru.

Investigations revealed that the accused were regularly supplying drugs via flights from Delhi. Several foreign nationals, including those from African countries and Nigeria, are expanding the network through local peddlers.

Supplies are also being routed from Mumbai to Mangaluru, though the invisible hands controlling the syndicates remain elusive. Adding to the concern is the growing number of underage girls falling prey to drug addiction. Incidents of young women being drawn into substance abuse in the name of pubs, clubs and parties are on the rise.

Taking serious note of the spike in drug-related crimes, Mangaluru City police commissioner Sudheer Kumar Reddy and Dakshina Kannada district superintendent of police Dr Arun have made the war on drugs their top priority. Their sustained offensive against peddlers has created fear within drug networks and renewed hope that “drug-hit Mangaluru” can move towards becoming drug-free.

Within the Mangaluru City Police Commissionerate limits, 160 drug peddlers were arrested in 2024, while the figure has climbed to 212 this year, with nearly 80 per cent currently lodged in jail. As the crackdown tightens, drug consumption cases have dropped sharply from 1,244 in 2024 to 661 this year.

So far this year, within the Mangaluru City Police Commissionerate limits, police have seized 319.335 kg of ganja, 1.297 kg of MDMA, 14.4 grams of hydro weed ganja, 21.03 grams of cocaine, 186 g of opium, 19.95 g of methamphetamine, 125.46 grams of charas and 1.319 kg of bhang chocolate. Public participation has also strengthened the fight against narcotics.