Luxury trap: How drug rackets lure youth with iPhones and easy money

KOCHI: The lure of a luxurious lifestyle, high-end smartphones, branded clothes, nightlife, and social media glamour, is pushing many youngsters in the city into the dangerous web of drug trafficking.

Excise and Kochi city police officials said that a pattern has emerged during recent crackdowns: several young peddlers arrested in narcotics cases were carrying high-end iPhones, many of them purchased on EMI. During interrogation, some admitted that beyond addiction, they entered the trade to repay instalments and sustain an expensive lifestyle. What starts as a means to earn quick money soon turns into a trap that is hard to escape.