Malana Cream posts bumper crop as cops turn down heat; supply surges to north Indian youth hubs like Gurgaon and Chandigarh, also to Mumbai, Pune, Goa
Malana Cream posts bumper crop as cops turn down heat; supply surges to north Indian youth hubs like Gurgaon and Chandigarh, also to Mumbai, Pune, Goa
MANY a dopey thought the legendary Malana Cream was finished.
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Malana hashish, just like Havana cigars that are rumoured to be rolled between the thighs of young women, is supposedly made fine by the soft hands of children in the remote Himachal village
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Evidently not, if recent busts, street-corner peddler accounts and narcotics department figures are telling a story.
A relentless crackdown by narcotic officials since 2002 had ensured that hashish cultivation in Malana, a tiny village in Himachal about 100 km from Manali not far from where the snow leopards live, was put paid to.
This village is also the home to descendants of Alexander the Great's soldiers (the green eyes and peppering of Greek in the local language startles visitors). The hashish here, just like Havana cigars that are rumoured to be rolled between the thighs of young women, is made fine by the soft hands of children in the village. A tola (about 10gm) of Malana Cream costs between Rs 2,000 and Rs 3,000 in Indian cities.
"But there have been no effective raids in Malana in the last two years. So, while the hemp cultivation has stopped in the village, small patches of nearby hilly forests are being taken up to cultivate a hybrid, more potent variety of the hashish," said a senior Himachal police official, requesting anonymity because he is not authorised to speak to the press.u00a0
Arrests of at least 20 Haryanvi peddlers in the last one year point to north Indian cities like Delhi, Chandigarh, Gurgaon, and Noida becoming major drug hubs. Traditionally, Nepali mafia had a stranglehold on trafficking, the police say, adding that Bhiwani and Rothak have become key transit points.
Last month, even zonal director of Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) in Chandigarh Saji Mohan was arrested for involvement in the Himachal drug trade. State police officials say Mohan ensured that Malana cultivators were not raided in the last two years.
NCB officials in Delhi say joint operations with the Himachal police have not been very successful because there is a huge pressure on the state force from lobbies that profit from the charas trade.
"Local pressure has always been there because powerful people both nationally and internationally have a stake in this trade," said Superintendent of Police Jagat Ram. "I cannot comment on Mohan's arrest or the quantity of hash being produced here, but curbing it is our top priority."
He said besides the north Indian cities, the hash was going out in large quantities to Mumbai, Pune and tourist places in Goa.
City cartels confirm the swell in supply. "Malana Cream, the best hash money can buy, has come back to the market in quintals," said a Noida-based peddler, requesting anonymity. "There is a very high demand among BPO employees, other young professionals and socialites."
Delhi police confirm that the city is a huge transit point as well as drug market. "A number of arrests and seizures keep happening," said Delhi police spokesperson Rajan Bhagat. "Himachal is one of the prime sources of drugs like hashish."
