TN: AIADMK holds human chain protest against DMK govt over "widespread" narcotics trade

The workers, wearing black shirts, made a human chain of about 2 kilometres, starting from the Nagapattinam municipal office. The protest was led by former Tamil Nadu Minister and senior AIADMK leader OS Manian. The protesters raised slogans against the DMK government.

The protesters demanded that the police stop drug abuse among youth and school students. They demanded the resignation of Chief Minister MK Stalin, whom they said was unable to stop the illegal drug trade in the state. They also alleged that under his watch, law and order in the state deteriorated due to the drug trade and drug abuse.

The opposition started attacking the DMK government after Jaffer Sadiq, a Tamil film producer, was arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau. The agency said that he was the kingpin in a Rs 2,000 crore international drug trafficking racket.

After the arrest, Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi also expressed apprehension over the drug cartel in the state.

"Recent interdictions of sizeable quantities of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances and the apprehension of members of international drug cartels in Tamil Nadu and other places by central agencies have confirmed our worst fears--the prevalence of drugs in our state," Governor Ravi said in a statement on Sunday.

He said that concerned parents with their wards in high schools and colleges have been sharing with him for the last over a year their serious worries over the prevalence of drugs at the campuses and entertainment clubs in the state.

The Narcotics Control Bureau arrested Jaffer Sadiq on Saturday.

Jaffer Sadiq, alias Bezos, is a Chennai resident.

According to the officials, Jaffer Sadiq is the chief of a network spread over India, New Zealand, Australia and Malaysia.

The accused has earned a huge amount of money through drug trafficking and invested it in multiple industries like film, construction, hospitality, etc., said the agency. (ANI)