KOCHI: Law enforcement agencies are on high alert as migrant workers from Assam and West Bengal return to Kerala after voting in their respective assembly elections, amid suspicions that some might attempt to smuggle narcotic substances into the state.
Security and surveillance measures have been intensified across Ernakulam district, with a special focus on areas such as Aluva and Perumbavoor that have a significant migrant population.
Authorities suspect that some returning migrants could attempt to smuggle narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances into the state. Based on the intelligence input, inspections have been carried out at key transit points and even interior routes commonly used for entry into the district, said a source with the Ernakulam excise division.
“Following the final phase of the assembly elections in West Bengal, slated for April 29, a mass return of migrant workers to Kerala is expected. With this influx, we anticipate an increase in interceptions and seizures. As the chief nodal agency to curb narcotic trafficking and abuse, our squads are on high alert,” said Jobby A T, assistant excise commissioner (enforcement), Ernakulam.
An officer with the Perumbavoor subdivision of Ernakulam rural police said: “Concerns surrounding the electoral process had prompted many migrant workers to return home. With the elections being held after the SIR, there was doubts among people, particularly in northern states, that a failure to vote could affect their future voting rights or even raise questions about their citizenship. As a result, many migrant workers in Kerala travelled to their native places, using trains and chartered buses, to exercise their franchise.”
Meanwhile, T D Sunilkumar, assistant commissioner with the narcotic cell of Kochi city police, said that despite the focus remains on curbing trafficking, preventing drugs from reaching consumers, and dismantling both supply and source chains.