Kerala sees a surge in social media-based drug supply chains

A top-level meeting of law enforcement and excise officers on Saturday reportedly identified nascent darknet and social media-centred drug supply and peddling chains as an emergent challenge to narcotic enforcement in the State.

Officials privy to the close-door meeting said online digital transactions with payments made using cryptocurrency could displace in-person transactions between narcotic suppliers, peddlers and users, which characterised the conventional drug trade in the State for decades. They also noted the entry of new players in the drug trade, with most suspects being first-time offenders from the digitally savvy younger demographic.

Investigators pointed to the detection of one kilogram of ganja couriered from Thailand to Kerala via the International Post Office in Kochi in February and the intercepted courier delivery of synthetic drugs to a peddler in Kochi in 2022 as early pointers to the emerging trend of using cryptocurrency routed through offshore banks for narcotics-related transactions.

The conference also resolved to use the services of the Kerala Police Cyberdome to track digital narcotic couriers, or electronic mules, and infiltrate social media groups promoting the subculture of drugs and music to prevent the inflow of hallucinogens, including LSD and ‘magic mushrooms,’ which often get retailed at music concerts and rave parties at farmhouses and exclusive resorts.

Reason for demand

Officials also said the relatively low cost, easy availability, and low detection risk of synthetic drugs had spurred their demand and they appeared to edge out cannabis.

The police would use the help of Central agencies to track the movement and delivery of dual-purpose precursor chemicals that errant chemists could use to cook amphetamine and methamphetamine family drugs such as MDMA.

Taking the sea route

They said sea routes and Kerala’s inland waterways were likely to be used more for drug abuse. The State police have alerted coastal police stations of the threat, which resulted in the registration of 118 drug cases based on coastal intelligence inputs in 2024.

Officials said the Coastal Bulletin, an internal circular from the Kerala Coastal police, had noted the increasing use of South Asian sea routes to smuggle drugs into southern States, including Kerala. The police have established anti-narcotic Special Operations Groups in Station Houses across the State and stepped up preventive detention and seizure of assets of habitual drug offenders. 

Excise Commissioner Mahipal Yadav and Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) Manoj Abraham chaired the meeting.