More than the chemicals, the culture has changed in the last couple of decades. Unlike the hippie in the 1970s, when consumption of drugs was more of a revolutionary statement, today drugs are often perceived as lifestyle accessories of the rich and famous.The trend is unmistakable. “It can safely be said that most celebrities and many around them like models or children of big businessmen consume cocaine. The few who don’t can be counted on fingertips,” said a Mumbai lawyer who has handled cases of drugs peddling. Insisting on remaining anonymous, he added: “You don’t name big names unless they land themselves in court cases. And such cases are few and far between.”“Cocaine was not on the Indian drug map till recently. Cocaine abuse was a trend in the European and North American countries, but not so much here. As there were not too many cases on record, no serious study has been done in India. Going by the number of discothèques, farm house parties, etc, there is now a sizeable market for cocaine in cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Pune and tourist destinations like Goa,” said A P Siddiqui, Deputy Director, Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB).While cheaper drugs like heroin and marijuana are manufactured in India, cocaine comes from Latin American countries like Columbia, Peru, Bolivia or Ecuador in consignments. Mass consumption of cocaine picked up in India’s top metros with frequent private rave parties, with even designated counters for cocaine at the venues. Ravers form an exclusive community that lives by its own party rules. A lawyer, who got a culture shock when he saw even seven-year-old children snorting cocaine in one of these parties, explained: “Cocaine is the rich man’s drug. It is the costliest in the market and a symbol of power.” A gram of cocaine comes for between Rs 3,000 and Rs 5,000 in India.In 2001, actor Fardeen Khan was one of the first celebrities to be caught red-handed trying to buy cocaine. The NCB intercepted Khan in Juhu outside a popular hotel early in the morning when he was buying cocaine sitting inside his car from Naseer, a drug peddler. “I take cocaine to get fresh. I sleep at 3 a.m. and report for shooting at 9 a.m. I take it to remain fresh while shooting,” Khan was reported to have explained after being booked. A pinch of cocaine is enough to keep you “fresh” or high for 12 hours. Khan, currently out on bail, moved a special court asking for charges against him to be specified. The application was recently rejected.Last year, Provogue Lounge CEO Salil Chaturvedi was caught by the city police for involvement in a drug scandal. The police intercepted a Nigerian who supplied cocaine to people in the film industry and business personalities at Sahar International airport. After the arrest of a Provogue employee, Allwyn Sequeira, and a Provogue manager, Vishal Megnani, the Nigerian admitted that the cocaine was meant for customers at Provogue Lounge. The trail finally led to the arrest of Chaturvedi after the police managed to seize a cocaine vial from his house.Initially while seeking his remand, the police accused Chaturvedi of “corrupting the younger generation” by supplying them cocaine. But when the chargesheet was filed, he was only charged for being in possession of one gram of cocaine. Chatruvedi, too, is out on bail.These two cases apart, the recent haul of 200 kg of cocaine by the NCB is just the third seizure of cocaine in Mumbai this year. “It is extremely difficult to nail these cases, particularly when the abusers are social elites,” said a public prosecutor. Some officials at the NCB, however, explained the reasons why they were not too keen on targeting celebrities: “After all, they are individual consumers with small quantities in their possession. Our aim is to catch hold of the big syndicates.”But that is easier said than done. “Since the stakes are very high, the channels through which these syndicates operate are also highly complicated. They do not depend on peddlers but engage multiple contact men. It is very difficult to penetrate these multi-layered channels,” said a senior NCB officer.
