Battling drug abuse: On Kerala's Operation Toofan

📌 Summary:

• Context: A growing section of Kerala's youth has fallen into addiction to narcotics and psychotropic substances; the problem intensified as synthetic-drug cartels used digital technology and social media to outpace law enforcement
• Data on the surge: NDPS cases jumped from 5,695 (2021) to 26,619 (2022), reaching 36,314 in 2025, with large seizures of commercial-quantity contraband; Ernakulam (Kochi) accounts for a large share
• Response: The UDF government launched Operation Toofan in June 2026 — an integrated drive with the State police, southern States' forces, central agencies, and education, health and excise departments, focusing on enforcement, public engagement, victim rehabilitation and speedy prosecution
• Outcome so far: Until July 15, it netted 7,600+ peddlers in ~7,100 cases, synthetic drugs forming a big share of the haul
• Core challenges (causal chain): (1) narcotics cases are weakened by questionable forensic reliability; (2) intricate cartel networks mean investigations catch only the "small fish"; (3) rackets use innovative digital means to recruit carriers, coordinate and deliver
• Solutions proposed: strengthen national intelligence-sharing under the NCORD framework and the NIDAAN database of narco-offenders; States to appoint nodal officers and a shared platform; upskill the District Anti-Narcotics Special Action Force (DANSAF); build cyber-forensic capabilities so investigation and prosecution do not fail