KOCHI: In January 2022, police seized 46 kg of ganja from an ambulance near Perunthalmanna in Malappuram. Four years later, in May this year, anti-narcotics officials in Thrissur recovered more than 250 grams of MDMA concealed inside the beacon of an ambulance allegedly travelling with its siren in order to avoid suspicion.
These incidents have flared up yet again: the misuse of trusted services such as ambulances and gig delivery networks to transport contraband. And following up on Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala’s warning against such activities, police authorities have intensified surveillance.
“We have received information about such instances, and based on that, we are taking initiatives to curb them,” said Arul R B Krishna, Commissioner of Police, Thiruvananthapuram City.
“Through our special branch and other intelligence mechanisms, we are monitoring the transportation of contraband via ambulances and gig workers. Strict action will be taken if we receive concrete information.”
The commissioner said that while not many cases have been registered at present, authorities have received certain inputs from the ground.
“We are gathering information and monitoring these activities. Random checks of delivery workers are being initiated, without affecting their routine operations,” he said.
However, the allegations are a matter of concern for ambulance workers. An ambulance driver from Kochi, who requested anonymity, said the licensing system for ambulance drivers needs to be strengthened.
“If a proper licensing system is implemented across Kerala, it could help reduce illegal transportation through ambulances,” he said.
He added that some private operators, facing a shortage of drivers, may hire random personnel.
“Some of these drivers may be prone to substance abuse. During long-distance trips, such as transporting bodies to cities like Bengaluru or Odisha, ambulances are misused for transporting drugs under the guise of emergency services,” he added.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson, Anandu, for the Ambulance Owners and Drivers Association said, “We want drug traffickers to be punished. I have been in this service since 2008, and we have never recorded such illegal transportation in our network. It is insulting for genuine ambulance workers to be viewed with suspicion.
If we are stopped in the middle of the road for sudden checks, it affects not only us but also the people depending on us.”
Similar concerns have been raised by gig workers, who say they are being unfairly stigmatised.
“It’s unfair to open or inspect consignments handed over to gig workers,” said Sumesh Padman, state general secretary of the Kerala State Gig and Platform Workers Union.
“We are not running a drug cartel. The delivery agents are workers trying to make a living. Treating delivery workers with suspicion and disdain is an insult to their dignity.”
At the same time, excise officials pointed out that traffickers are constantly devising new methods to evade detection.
“Ambulances were allegedly misused for illegal transportation because they could move freely during the Covid lockdown restrictions,” P K Satheesh, deputy excise commissioner, Ernakulam said.
According to Excise Inspector Arun D S, app-based delivery services and the ‘drop method’ have emerged as the preferred techniques.
“In end-to-end delivery apps, there is often no intermediary office. Packages can move directly from one person to another, sometimes without verification,” Arun said.
He said traffickers also increasingly use a method where drugs are hidden at predetermined locations and are picked up later by buyers. In Kochi, metro pillars have reportedly become convenient markers for such drops.
“The supplier might say, for example, that the packet has been placed beneath pillar number 527. Once the money is transferred online, the buyer receives the exact location,” the officer explained.
The contraband is often packed carefully to avoid damage and suspicion. According to Arun, drugs such as MDMA and heroin are placed in tiny zip-lock pouches, wrapped in aluminium foil, and concealed in places that would escape notice.
Some are sealed inside plastic straws, while others are taped underneath structures or hidden inside discarded cigarette packets.
App-based delivery’
According to Excise Inspector Arun D S, app-based delivery services and the ‘drop method’ have emerged as the preferred techniques.
Traffickers also increasingly use a method where drugs are hidden at predetermined locations and are picked up later by buyers. In Kochi, metro pillars have reportedly become convenient markers for such drops.
The contraband is often packed carefully to avoid damage and suspicion. Some are sealed inside plastic straws, while others are taped underneath structures or hidden inside discarded cigarette packets