Tamil Nadu CM Vijay faces opposition fire for 137kg meth haul in the state

Tamil Nadu's opposition parties DMK and AIADMK have been targeting TVK Chief and Chief Minister Joseph Vijay, over a 137kg crystal meth haul by the Central agency DRI from the coastal district of Nagapattinam. Announcing the recent seizure of the narcotic substance, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence said that this haul of 137 kg crystal methamphetamine, a banned synthetic drug, is one of the biggest narcotics seizures in Tamil Nadu’s coastal region in recent years. While the DRI made four arrests in the case, the DRI has not revealed the identity of the individuals. Both opposition parties in Tamil Nadu have directly targeted Chief Minister and TVK Chief Vijay, alleging that TVK functionary Boopalan was among those arrested by the DRI.

According to the DRI, its officials acted on specific intelligence and conducted an intensive surveillance and enforcement operation last week, successfully uncovering a suspected coastal drug-trafficking network attempting to smuggle the narcotic substances to Sri Lanka. The consignment was intended to be smuggled to Sri Lanka through mid-sea transfer. The value of the seized contraband in the illicit drug market is estimated to be in excess of Rs 100 crore, DRI revealed.

AIADMK Chief Edappadi Palaniswami lashed out at Vijay by questioning his silence over this case. "When such an International drug mafia is being run with the support of the ruling TVK, for whom did 'Reels CM' run anti-narcotics marathon ? TVK local functionaries are threatening journalists who are reporting this issue," Palaniswami remarked. He also slammed the Police under CM Vijay, pointing out that a central agency DRI carried out this massive drug seizure in Tamil Nadu, while the local police could not.

DMK Chief MK Stalin alleged that TVK Govt is carrying out arrests of political functionaries of opposition parties to divert attention from the drug haul linked to a TVK Functionary and the failed governance in Tamil Nadu. Stalin was referring to the arrest of functionaries from fringe outfit and political party NTK, whose cadre had allegedly protested against CM Vijay during his visit to Dharapuram and allegedly made objectionable remarks during the recent bypoll campaign. "BJP in Delhi and TVK in Tamil Nadu are competing with each other by Saving Criminals and arresting protestors," Stalin remarked.

When a TVK Minister faced drug-use allegations, issued a denial

This June, an old video of Tamil Nadu's Human Resources Minister D Sarath Kumar carefully handling a white powdery substance spread on the screen of his smartphone using a payment card and a currency note, had gone viral. As a coincidence, the old video went viral on the International Day against Drug Abuse, when Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Vijay flagged off and took part in a marathon to create awareness against abuse of drugs and narcotics substances. With serious allegations of drug abuse being made against the Minister, Sarath Kumar clarified that the white powdery substance was a medicine meant for his ailing child. Opposition parties had expressed concern that the minister’s action in the video is eerily similar to how people snort drugs.

Confirming that the video featured him, Minister Sarath Kumar had said that it was from an IPL cricket match that he witnessed from the stadium along with his family and friends, almost two years ago. Referring to the white powdery substance he is seen handling, he said that it was a medicine that he was preparing for his infant. He reasoned that the infant was not consuming the tablet, and that they had decided to crush the pill, mix it with water and feed his child. Further, he expressed sorrow that an old video was being used now to make wrongful allegations of drug abuse. He also queried how narcotics substances could be used out in the open in a cricket stadium that is under police protection, in a stand where thousands of spectators are gathered.