KOCHI: Performance bikes are apparently helping young drug peddlers in the district to slip away from excise officials during checking.Though the major chunk of vehicles impounded by the excise department for transporting narcotic drugs are bikes below 150CC, autos and cars, there has been a spurt in the youth (between 18 and 23 years of age) caught with narcotic products while transporting them in above 200 CC bikes in the district. These kinds of bikes are called entry-level bikes above 18-19 brake horse power (BHP).The data provided by excise officials in the district show that performance bikes such as Harley Davidson, Duke, Pulsar 220, FC Yamaha and Karizma ZMR seem to be the sought-after bikes among the youth for transporting narcotic products.Besides the craze for performance bikes, officials said the ease for negotiating through narrow roads and high speed are helping the riders escape from the gaze of excise teams in the nick of time.“It has become difficult for us to chase youngsters who refuse to stop the bike during our drive against narcotic products. If they see us on road, they increase the speed of the bikes suddenly and vroom past us by getting into narrow roads. We cannot chase or catch them with our jeeps,” said circle inspector of excise squad E Suresh.Mattancherry excise officials caught a Pulsar 220 rider with narcotic drugs in 2017 and their Njarakkal counterpart a Karizma ZMR rider in 2015. In 2017 and 2018, North Paravoor and Aluva excise teams caught one Duke rider each. In 2017, Perumbavoor excise department caught a Harely Davidson rider.The speed of performance bikes can rise to 70-75/km in the third gear and can further to 120-130 km/hr in the fifth gear. Meanwhile, the speed of bikes below 150 CC will touch 50-55 km/hour in the third gear and can further rise to 100km/hour in the fifth gear.Seeing more usage of performance bikes among youngsters who have been caught for carrying narcotic products, excise officials are focusing their attention on such youths.“Possessing performance bikes is a prestige symbol for youngsters. We have been conducting inspection focusing on performance bikes. Youngsters do everything to buy such bikes. When we check the family background of a youngster who was caught with narcotic products while riding a performance bike, it has been noted that he come from a financially poor background,” said Sujith, excise inspector in Mamala, where an youngster was caught while transporting ganja in Duke three months ago.Vehicles caught in NDPS cases have been kept on the premises of excise offices.

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