KOCHI: A South Indian racket comprising Malayalees and having strong networks in West Asian countries and Malaysia is behind the trafficking of MDMA (Methylenedioxymethamphetamine) and other psychotropic drugs through Kochi to international destinations, it is suspected.
Enforcement agencies have started collecting details of the racket and its members based on inputs they corroborated following the arrest of Kannur native Prasanth Kumar who was nabbed in connection with the seizure of 30 kg of MDMA from Kochi the other day. Prasanth was settled in Chennai.
Officers of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) said a team is already scouting for details about the persons coordinating the activities of the racket from Tamil Nadu.
“Our team is in Tamil Nadu to collect more details about other members of the racket,” said an officer.
The agencies will collect details from an accused Faizal, who was arrested in February following the seizure of 5.2 kg MDMA consignment from Nedumbassery.
“It is certain members of the racket operating in Dubai, Kuwait and Malaysia have strong links in Kerala. Already, the probe has revealed a few suspects from Kannur and Kasargod, who are currently settled in Gulf countries, are part of the racket,” the officers said. The latest seizure of 30 kg of MDMA was made following the input by the courier firm which the accused had approached to book the consignment to Malaysia.
Ever since the agencies got alerts about rackets using courier firms to ship the contraband to other countries, NCB had alerted the staff of the courier firms to identify suspects based on certain indicators and follow a set of procedures while accepting parcels to other countries.
In different phases, representatives from courier firms in Ernakulam were trained in identifying suspects based on certain parameters.