This story is from September 23, 2019

Not Malana cream; Nepalese charas sells in Himachal

The increase in cases of charas seizure in Himachal, especially in Kullu, despite police and state government running several programmes to destroy the cannabis crops has left the agencies clueless for years.
Not Malana cream; Nepalese charas sells in Himachal
Representative image
MANALI: The increase in cases of charas seizure in Himachal, especially in Kullu, despite police and state government running several programmes to destroy the cannabis crops has left the agencies clueless for years.
After some Nepalese were arrested while smuggling charas consignments from Nepal to India to sell it in the name of “Malana cream” in the last few years, police fear that a large quantity of charas being supplied in the market may have been brought from Nepal.

Sapna and Rani, both residents of Kapilvastu district of Nepal, were travelling from Nepal to Manikaran in Parvati valley of Kullu in a bus on July 26. Both had concealed 9.8kg of charas in plastic and wrapped it around their body. They were arrested by Kullu police. During custodial enquiry, the accused confessed that the charas was sourced from Nepal.
In a similar case, a Nepalese woman was arrested from Kasol after police recovered 9.8kg charas from her possession. There are many such cases where police and narcotics control bureau arrested smugglers who gave them clue that charas was brought to Himachal from Nepal. Ironically, there is possibility that many smugglers and peddlers are being duped by those who sell them cheap Nepalese charas in the name of Malana cream.
Kullu superintendent of police Gaurav Singh said there was possibility that a large quantity of charas available in the market or being smuggled do not belong to Kullu. “The area where cannabis is cultivated in Kullu has decreased over the years due to strict law and police action. Police destroy cannabis at hundreds of bigha land every year. Still, the availability of charas in the market raises doubts that from where it is being procured. Nepalese charas is also being smuggled to Kullu,” Singh said.

Kullu, especially Parvati valley, is notorious worldwide for its production of world’s best charas, a cannabis resin. The charas produced in Malana, known as Malana cream, is the world’s most expensive charas which fetches around Rs one lakh to Rs 10 lakh per kg. On the other hand, charas produced in Nepal is of inferior quality and is very cheap. The greed to earn easy money is encouraging Nepalese to smuggle charas from Nepal to Himachal, particularly Kullu. They sell the product by putting a stamp of Malana cream on it so that the contraband gets a high price in the market.
Singh said charas peddlers, purchasers and even police fail to detect the difference between Nepalese and local charas until examined in laboratory. “There is a small difference in structure and appearance which only experts can detect by just seeing or touching it. The charas produced in Kullu has high tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) content. We are not just fighting with locally produced charas but also with the ones being smuggled from outside,” he added.
Kullu police have already started anti-cannabis and anti-drugs campaign in the district where at least one person is being arrested daily under NDPS Act. Police are laying frequent nakas at key places. District police chief himself is conducting recce at different places to get clues of the contraband. Meanwhile, police are organizing awareness programmes in villages and are encouraging people to help them in fighting the war against drugs.
Police had launched the cannabis destruction campaign from Malana village in 1996. Later, the campaign spread across the district. It was in 2011 when cannabis plants were destroyed from record 6,677 bigha of forest and private land between June 18 and October 31.
According to police sources, over 10,000 bigha land was under cannabis cultivation in mid-90s. In 2012, Kullu police had recognized an area of 7,000 bigha under cultivated and naturally grown cannabis. Now, police said the area under cannabis plants was less than 3,000 bigha.
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