Kochi: The police raid in the hostel of Government Polytechnic College, Kalamassery, which ended up in a massive drug haul, was the culmination of a months-long effort by the college administration to bring an end to the drug menace on the campus.

The police arrested three students from the Periyar men’s hostel and seized two kg of ganja from them in the raid on Thursday night. Two former students, suspected to be drug peddlers, were also arrested on Saturday as part of the probe. After the raid, police officers said that the action was carried out based on tip-off from inside the college. On Saturday, it emerged that the college principal Dr Aiju Thomas had written a letter to the city police commissioner alerting him of possible drug abuse during the holi celebrations planned for Friday.

The letter was part of the frequent communication between the college authorities and the police over the past six months with the aim of breaking the chain of drug supply among the students. Two weeks ago, the police had nabbed two former students from the campus for selling ganja among the students.

The college authorities had noticed some former students frequenting the campus and got information that they were involved in drug supply. Ganja sales peaked among students during celebrations on the campus. The holi eve was fixed for the raid expecting the peddlers to store the contraband in large quantities. “Had it been a normal day, the police raid would have ended up with the seizure of a small quantity of the substance. Now, with the 2 kg seizure, the gravity of the menace has been exposed. It was planned to break the chain,” an official involved in the mission told Onmanorama.

The college authorities started noticing a surge of behavioural issues among the students after the pandemic period and teachers felt that it has only been getting worse since then. In cases where drug use was identified as a reason, the college stepped in to help with counselling and other measures. Recreational activities such as farming and music were introduced to deter hostel students from drug abuse. In extreme cases, addicts were allowed to take a break from studies and attend de-addiction programmes.

“We have been doing everything possible to keep students away from the drug menace. We will be implementing stricter measures from next academic year,” Principal Dr Aiju Thomas said.