The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Source of ecstasy tablets at rave party under probe

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Dec 08, 2004

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Source of ecstasy tablets at rave party under probe

By K.T. Sangameswaran

CHENNAI, DEC. 7. The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), which arrested the disc jockey (DJ) of a "rave party" near Hosur, on the Tamil Nadu-Karnataka border, last month, is probing the origin of ecstasy tablets and cocaine allegedly used in the party.

The DJ has been arrested under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and remanded to judicial custody.

What is of concern is the use of psychedelic drugs at such parties in which a large number of youngsters participate, the NCB south zonal Director, Shankar Jiwal, told The Hindu .

Loud music

A rave party is one in which "trance music" is played and drugs play an integral part.

The outdoor party, in which the DJ is the centre of attraction, starts around 1.30 a.m. and goes on till the morning hours. They are held in secluded sites, as the music is played very loud.

Inevitably, drug peddlers sell stimulants such as cocaine and ecstasy tablets to the participants. Information about such parties is spread through word of mouth or short-messaging service (SMS).

At the party in Nallur near Hosur on November 13, the DJ had allegedly made arrangements with an associate for distributing cocaine, ecstasy tablets and ganja in addition to alcohol and cigarettes.

Nearly 60 cars were found at the venue.

The participants, most of whom were from Bangalore, were in the age group of 20-30, well-off and were employed in call centres, hotels, software companies and fashion design firms.

Mr. Jiwal said enquiries with some of the participants revealed that they had informed their parents that they would be attending an "overnight party", but the parents were in the dark about the use of drugs.

Entrance fee

An "entrance fee" of Rs. 400 a participant was charged for the party, which had 150 participants when the NCB team raided it.

A search yielded 0.5 gm of cocaine, 33.5 gm of ganja and 3.5 gm of ecstasy tablets (totally 13 tablets).

Empty cartons of cocaine, cannabis stubs and alcohol were found, Mr. Jiwal said.

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