Strips of the illegal narcotic substance, Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (LSD), bearing the face of Hindu God Shiva have been seized by local police in India's southern state of Karnataka.
Two people found in possession of 840 strips of the banned narcotic substance Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (popularly known as LSD), were arrested by Karnataka's Mangalore City police on Friday. The police claimed that the seized LSD strips with the image of Hindu God Shiva are estimated to be worth more than INR2,000,000 ($27,368).
— Shashi Kumar N cp mangalore (@ShashiK85532199) June 11, 2021
Consumption and possession of contraband are punishable in India under the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.
Mangalore, known as the state's educational hub, has been witnessing a spike in cases of substance abuse. According to reports, in an attempt to make quick money, students have started selling drugs inside educational institutions. Recently four college students were arrested for trafficking cocaine in the city.
Last year, the Karnataka Police arrested local actors who perform in the Kannada dialect, and summoned others from the film industry - the local film industry is called Sandalwood - in connection with a drug-dealing case.
Despite the coronavirus-induced lockdown, some enclaves of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana have seen a surge in foreign postal parcels containing banned substances. "Bengaluru city has become a new transit point in the drug’s route to South Asian countries, which is one of the reasons for its easy availability in the state," police claimed.
The Karnataka government revealed that they had seized a record 5,000 strips of LSD in 2020.
