Kochi, Oct 22 (IANS): On a pleasure trip from Thrissur to the pristine hill station at Munnar, a group of students, all minors landed up in trouble as they were caught red-handed for possessing five grams of ganja and one gram of hashish oil by an Excise official.

A case was filed against two minor boys for carrying ganja and hashish oil along with them.

While travelling to the hill station, the bus carrying the students stopped for food.

After eating food, a few boys decided to have a drag from a beedi filled with ganja and they also possessed a small quantity of hashish oil.

But finding none of them had a matchbox, seeing a building which they thought was a workshop entered it.

Soon, the boys asked a person in the building for a matchbox who turned out to be an Excise officer.

Sensing trouble, the boys started to run, but soon they were caught and only then they realised they had entered the local State Excise office.

The Excise department is the watchdog for illicit liquor, drugs and similar banned narcotic products.

After the Excise officials took the boys into custody, being minors the latter were given counselling and handed over to the teachers accompanying them on the pleasure trip.

The Excise officials have registered a case against two students under the Juvenile Justice Act and handed the case to the concerned body.

Of late, Kerala has reported increased use of ganja and other narcotic drugs.

Likewise, there has been an increased seizure of such products as on Friday morning, the Excise officials, acting on a tip-off, took into custody two migrant labourers who travelled by a train from Chennai and alighted at Vadakara railway station for possessing nine kg of ganja.

Incidentally, the Malayalam film industry according to the now controversial Hema Committee report which probed the pitiable conditions of women in the industry, also pointed out that the film industry is under the grip of drugs and appropriate action has to be taken.