Students being used as drug-peddlers in Visakhapatnam

In an alarming and a worrying news, it has been reported that students are being used to push drugs in Visakhapatnam. As per a report in The Hindu, a team from the City Task Force (CTF) caught hold of a group of youngsters with ganja a few days ago. It has been learned that while five of the group’s members were abusing the drug, the remaining two were said to be peddlers.

The police also found that the peddlers were carrying small blotting papers that were soaked in LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide). It has to be noted that a few months ago, it was the same drug that had stirred up major controversies in Hyderabad.

Shockingly, this is the first instance when a psychedelic drug has been seized in Visakhapatnam. The peddlers have apparently revealed that they got access to the LSD from Hyderabad in exchange for ganja, which has Visakhapatnam as one of its prominent hubs.

While the seizure of LSD in Visakhapatnam comes as a shocker, another worrying aspect is that many students from the city are being turned into drug abusers and part-time peddlers. The fact that all the accused in the recent case are from Engineering and MBA colleges is a testimony to it.

It has been informed that the students initially get addicted to these drugs and later turn into peddlers in order to fund their addiction. This addiction to drugs, combined with vulnerable fortitude, is being encashed by the smugglers to lure the youngsters into the business.

Inspector of Arilova police station, Shanmukha Rao, was quoted as saying, “Most of their customers are classmates, friends, and students from other colleges and there are specific code words to convey the stock position, a variety of drugs or ganja, price list and meeting place.”