News:2017-11-16/Report/sri-lankan-officials-raise-alarm-over-increasing-smuggling-of-kerala-ganja

16 November 2017

Report

Sri Lanka·

Sri Lankan officials raise alarm over increasing smuggling of 'Kerala Ganja'

The News Minute reported on escalating Kerala Ganja seizures in Sri Lanka, with over 300 kg seized in the preceding two months alone. Arrests included a Sri Lankan Excise Department officer at Vavuniya and an army soldier transporting 2 kg to Trincomalee. The Sri Lankan Navy had seized KG six times by October 2017. Crucially, Kerala Excise Commissioner Rishi Raj Singh stated that Kerala has "no mass ganja cultivation these days, even in Idukki," identifying Odisha, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh as the actual mass cultivation sources, with Naxals or ex-Naxals involved. He noted that Idukki cannabis had historically commanded a premium in international markets and that "the chances of faking ganja from other parts of the country as Kerala ganja cannot be ruled out" — effectively confirming the KG label as a brand name rather than an origin designation.

Source: https://www.thenewsminute.com/kerala/sri-lankan-officials-raise-alarm-over-increasing-smuggling-kerala-ganja-71691

2017-11-16 Report Sri Lankan officials raise alarm over increasing smuggling of 'Kerala Ganja' The News Minute reported on escalating Kerala Ganja seizures in Sri Lanka, with over 300 kg seized in the preceding two months alone. Arrests included a Sri Lankan Excise Department officer at Vavuniya and an army soldier transporting 2 kg to Trincomalee. The Sri Lankan Navy had seized KG six times by October 2017. Crucially, Kerala Excise Commissioner Rishi Raj Singh stated that Kerala has "no mass ganja cultivation these days, even in Idukki," identifying Odisha, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh as the actual mass cultivation sources, with Naxals or ex-Naxals involved. He noted that Idukki cannabis had historically commanded a premium in international markets and that "the chances of faking ganja from other parts of the country as Kerala ganja cannot be ruled out" — effectively confirming the KG label as a brand name rather than an origin designation. https://www.thenewsminute.com/kerala/sri-lankan-officials-raise-alarm-over-increasing-smuggling-kerala-ganja-71691