Cocaine and synthetic drug peddlers manage to survive

On the eve of New Year, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi tried to give respite to some by announcing a slew of sops for the farmers, small traders and women, after making them suffer post demonetisation.

However, Cocaine and synthetic drug peddlers used the opportunity of the cash crunch to engineer new ways to sell of their stock as many of the young people from Delhi had already started making the annual pilgrimage to the drug havens of Goa and Himachal.

The rest who remained, their drug bowl was filled to the brim, as many of their peddlers were able to sell them the drug of their choice. “Many of my friends had left for Goa. I also made the trip last year. But this year, due to demonetisation, I faced a lot of problems so thought I should save some money and just have a good time in Delhi,” said Animesh, a law student.

For Animesh, ‘good times’ translates to three grams of Cocaine that he cuts with three of his friends along with the customary Rum. “My dealer has been able to supply us Cocaine, I don’t think we faced any such problems. People did complain that their Hashish orders still haven’t come from the hills,” Animesh said. 

The Millennium Post had earlier reported, how Marijuana sellers in Delhi had been virtually paralysed due to the cash crunch. However, the same is not true for Cocaine dealers as many have increasingly used technology to their advantage. “I don’t like to think of myself as a peddler. I score the stash in wholesale and sell some on the side, to make some profit while I am able to use my own stash,” said Nihal (name changed), a college student.

Nihal and his fellow peddlers have come up with unique ration cards post demonetisation to keep the supply going. For those customers still dealing with the old currency have to pay Rs 2, 000 more for their 2 grams of Cocaine.

The buyers who come from the affluent sections of society also avail online transactions like Paytm and other online wallets still have to pay Rs 1, 000 more for the transaction. Whereas, those who are fortunate enough to hold on to the new currency, may avail the standard price of Rs 6,000-7, 000 for two grams of Cocaine.

“I had to increase the prices early, as many of my customers stopped scoring from me.  Then I found that If I could ration the prices, I could target more customers,” he further added. 

The anti drug agencies like the Narcotics Control Bureau and Narcotics cell ( Delhi Police), are still maintain that the drug trade is yet to recover from the cash crunch.