Kerala Drowning in Drugs: Operation Toofan Must Become a Turning Point

 

Kerala Drowning in Drugs: Operation Toofan Must Become a Turning Point

After the United Democratic Front came to power, Operation Toofan, led by Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala, has become a major eye-opener for the people of Kerala. The operation has helped expose the disturbing reality that the drug menace that devastated the younger generation in Punjab is now threatening Kerala in a similar manner.

The scale of the problem suggests that this is far more than a local criminal activity. It involves a massive financial transaction running into crores of rupees and appears to have links extending beyond Kerala and even beyond India. The drug trade did not suddenly emerge in 2026. It has been growing for years—raising serious questions about how much the administrative leadership, police and Excise authorities knew about it and why the menace was not effectively contained earlier.

Operation Toofan is significant because investigations are now moving beyond the lowest-level carriers and street-level peddlers and reaching national and international networks. This must be pursued relentlessly. Political leaders, community organisations, cultural activists and voluntary organisations must join hands to ensure that the momentum created by the operation does not fade away. The ultimate objective must be to rescue Kerala's youth from the grip of drugs.

The discovery of major gangs allegedly transporting and distributing drugs through international routes, including from Afghanistan and Thailand, demonstrates the disturbing reach of Kerala's drug networks. Recent reports in the Malayala Manorama have revealed incidents that appear more frightening than fictional crime stories.

One such case is that of Riyas of Chovvallurpadi, Guruvayur, who reportedly lived in a ₹4.5-crore flat in Greater Noida with extensive security arrangements and allegedly smuggled around 4 kg of MDMA into Kerala every month.

Similarly, the seizure of 12.8 kg of MDMA, reportedly worth about ₹10 crore, from Coimbatore by the Malappuram police, and the seizure of 6 kg of ganja from a young woman travelling from Chennai to Chengannur, reveal the frightening dimensions of the drug network.

Those arrested in connection with the MDMA seizure reportedly include Jabir Ali, 32, of Pantallur, Malappuram; Shaim Akbar, 21, of Anakkayam, Manjeri; and Muhammed Swalih, 34, of Meppadi, Wayanad. The woman arrested with ganja, Ganga Devi, 38, from Haryana, was reportedly travelling with her baby.

Such incidents point to a dangerous trend: the lure of quick money is drawing even young people into the drug trade. This is not merely a law-and-order issue. It is a serious social crisis.

Prevention must therefore begin at the school level. Children and adolescents must be made aware of the devastating consequences of drugs, the dangers of easy money and the legal consequences of drug-related offences. They must learn that financial security cannot be built through greed or criminal activity, but through education, hard work and honest means.

At the same time, enforcement must target the entire chain—financiers, manufacturers, international suppliers, transporters, distributors and those who launder the proceeds of crime—not merely the small-time carriers who are often the easiest to arrest.

If such a massive network is being uncovered even while Operation Toofan is underway, one can only imagine the extent of the drug trade that may have existed earlier.

We must also remember an important truth: without strong laws, effective investigation and a judiciary capable of delivering timely punishment, powerful drug mafias can continue to operate—even from behind prison walls.

Operation Toofan must therefore not remain merely a police operation. It must become a social movement to save Kerala's younger generation.

Kerala cannot afford to lose its youth to drugs. The fight must continue until the drug mafia is dismantled at every level.

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