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Alarming narcotics crisis in Jaffna: From a group of 22, 19 tested positive yesterday
View(s):By S. Rubatheesan
Nineteen out of 22 people admitted to the Jaffna District Hospital for tests yesterday morning came back positive for heroin use, an indication of just how serious the problem was in the peninsula, health officials said.
The unemployed men between the ages of 17 and 31 were taken in by police on Thursday and Friday over suspected narcotics possession and usage. They were handed over to the Judicial Medical Officer (JMO) yesterday for screening.
“This is an unusual number of addicts being detected on a single day,” said an official from the JMO’s office. In the recent past, the number of those testing positive was around five a day.
Five of the men were from prison but the others were picked up from the Chunnakam police area. While just three people tested negative, the JMO official said they, too, showed evidence of being long-time users based on the marks on their bodies.
Jaffna District Secretary K. Mahesan blamed the economic crisis and the global pandemic combined with poverty and unemployment for the dramatic spike in drug use. He called for urgent public support to tackle the issue. There was a strong mafia that smuggled and peddled narcotics in the region and police action alone was not sufficient, he said.
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