A peddler shows packets of marijuana in Patna. Picture by Deepak Kumar

Patna, June 15: In Patna, “Ganpath” doesn’t sell “daaru” (liquor) to ganglords. He has switched to a business with much bigger returns.

Based in the Jakkanpur area near Goreamath, Ganpath is one among the biggest sellers of marijuana (ganja) in the state capital. He brings the contraband from as far as Nepal and supplies them to clients in different parts of the city on much higher prices.

The lucrative activity, though illegal, is attracting hundreds of small-time peddlers like Ganpath. A big reason behind this is the easy smuggling of the contraband through the porous border.

The city police may claim they have nabbed peddlers involved in the illegal trade and recovered the huge cache of drugs time and again, the fact remains that buying the drugs in the state capital is almost a child’s play.

From small betel shops located at nondescript areas, to men roaming around in crowded places to even some physically challenged youths moving on special tricycles; the peddler can be any unsuspecting face of the crowd.

The Telegraph correspondent moved around some parts of the state capital for over a week to get first-hand knowledge of the nefarious activity carried out unhindered despite police presence. The men involved in the illegal trade, in fact, claimed the cops knew everything but chose to remain silent.

At an area near Malahi Pakri Mor under the Kankerbagh police station, the correspondent asked a rickshawpuller, who looked tired and frail, “Yahan ganja kaha milta hai? (Where do you get marijuana here?).”

The man, after a small pause, asked for Rs 10 and then went behind a closed betel shop only to re-appear within seven minutes. This time, he had a small plastic pouch filled with marijuana with him.

“If you are a new buyer, getting the drug is difficult. There are many who sell ganja but only to regular users like us,” the richshawpuller said.

The cost of the narcotic starts from Rs 5 and goes on to Rs 200.

Raghu (name changed), a drug peddler in Mithapur area, said: “A pouch of 50g is sold for Rs 200 while a 20g packet comes for Rs 100. Those pouches available for Rs 5 to Rs 20 too contain marijuana but they cannot be said to be pure. They are often mixed with crushed bhaang leaves. Those costing Rs 50, 100 and Rs 200 are absolutely pure,” the peddler said.

The Jakkanpur area is said to be a huge market for drug deals. On January 9 this year, the Jakkanpur police recovered as much as 8.5quintal of marijuana from a four-storeyed house behind Dayanand Girl’s High School. Five people were arrested in the raid.

“There are quite a few suppliers of the drug and Ganpath is one of them. A majority of sellers buy marijuana from him. He brings it from Nepal,” Raghu said.

“Of course there are betel shops which sell ganja too. In fact, there are betel shops located near educational institutions which sell ‘special cigarettes’ stuffed with ganja. These cigarettes are bought by none other than school students,” Raghu said.

In talks with The Telegraph, Rakhi Sharma, a social worker and a senior office holder of Disha, the oldest de-addiction-cum-rehabilitation center in Patna, said they had treated schoolboys who got addicted to marijuana after smoking these special cigarettes.

“Three schoolboys undergoing treatment for drug abuse in Patna said it all started with “special” cigarettes sold at a betel shop opposite their school. The boys loved its aroma and started smoking it regularly and soon became drug addicts. All of them are currently being treated for marijuana addiction,” Sharma said.

She added that that there has been a steady rise in the number of youngsters, mostly between 16 and 21 years, coming to the centre for de-addiction. Ganja remains the most popular form of addiction after alcohol, she added.