Battling drug abuse: On Kerala’s Operation Toofan
For a few years now, a growing section of Kerala’s youth has been consumed by a festering addiction to narcotic drugs and contraband/psychotropic substances. The signs of the State teetering towards substance abuse were apparent in the wake of the liquor ban a decade ago. But it grew to gargantuan proportions with synthetic drug cartels using digital technologies and social media to outpace law enforcement. While the COVID-19-stricken years of 2020-21 saw a drop in NDPS cases registered in the State, cases surged to 26,619 in 2022 from 5,695 in 2021. The number rose to 36,314 in 2025, alongside large-scale seizures of commercial quantities of contraband. Commercial capital Ernakulam city accounted for a substantial number. Despite efforts by multiple agencies, success has been limited. The UDF government sought to streamline the anti-drug enforcement drive by launching Operation Toofan in June, with the State police joining hands with the police forces in the southern States, central agencies, and State education, health and excise departments. Focusing on integrated enforcement, public engagement, rehabilitation of victims and a speedy and effective prosecution, the operation has, until July 15, netted over 7,600 drug peddlers in some 7,100 cases, with synthetic drugs accounting for a significant share of the haul. Given that narcotics cases are often weakened by questionable forensic reliability, the issue has gained sharp focus during the ongoing campaign. The network of drug cartels is often too intricately webbed, with investigations often netting only the small fish. Besides bringing the community on board as Toofan warriors, the campaign aims to strengthen national intelligence-sharing and coordination systems under the NCORD framework, including the NIDAAN database of arrested narco-offenders. Kerala Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala is meeting Chief Ministers to solicit jointness in the operations. The States are in the process of assigning nodal officers for close coordination, with a platform in the pipeline. Since the rackets employ innovative means to recruit carriers, coordinate among themselves and carry out delivery, Kerala needs to upskill the District Anti-Narcotics Special Action Force (DANSAF) personnel at the cutting edge to bust these networks. Equally important is to strengthen cyber forensic capabilities so that neither investigation nor prosecution is found wanting in taking these cases to their logical conclusion. The crippling effects of narcotics on society are manifold, and it is never too late to build a defence against them. Published - July 18, 2026 12:10 am IST Read Comments Copy link Email Facebook Twitter Telegram LinkedIn WhatsApp Reddit READ LATER SEE ALL Remove Related Topics Kerala / narcotics & drug trafficking / technology (general) / online / media / United Democratic Front / government / police / government departments / education / health
- 1Narcotics control in India operates under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, a Concurrent List subject that allows both Union and State governments to legislate and enforce. Kerala's Operation Toofan illustrates cooperative federalism, with State police coordinating with southern-state forces and central agencies through the Narco-Coordination Centre (NCORD), chaired at the Union level with state counterparts. Such multi-agency operations test India's federal enforcement architecture, since drug trafficking networks routinely cross state jurisdictional lines that policing under the State List alone cannot address.
- 2India's synthetic drug problem is increasingly linked to international trafficking routes, including the Golden Crescent spanning Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran, and the Golden Triangle spanning Myanmar, Laos and Thailand, from which precursor chemicals and finished narcotics enter Indian territory. The Narcotics Control Bureau, India's apex drug law enforcement agency established in 1986, coordinates with international bodies like the UN Office on Drugs and Crime to track cross-border syndicates. Kerala's coastal geography and proximity to major shipping lanes make it a documented entry point for maritime drug smuggling, linking a state-level enforcement drive to India's wider counter-narcotics diplomacy.
- 3The NDPS Act, 1985 imposes strict bail conditions under Section 37, requiring courts to find an accused unlikely to reoffend before granting bail, among India's toughest bail regimes. In Tofan Singh v. State of Tamil Nadu (2020), the Supreme Court held confessions made to NCB officers inadmissible, since such officers count as police officers under the Act, reshaping prosecution strategy nationwide. The editorial's concern over 'questionable forensic reliability' points to disputes under Section 52A, which governs chain-of-custody and certification of seized contraband.
- 4NDPS cases in Kerala rose more than six-fold, from 5,695 in 2021 to 36,314 in 2025, while Operation Toofan alone recorded over 7,600 arrests in about 7,100 cases within weeks of its June launch. Kerala's high per-capita substance consumption is often linked to its dense social networks, high literacy and large expatriate remittance economy, which raises youth disposable income. Synthetic drugs such as MDMA, increasingly sold through encrypted social media channels, now account for a growing share of seizures, marking a generational shift away from traditional cannabis and alcohol-based abuse patterns.
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