CHENNAI: After many food delivery agents in the city were arrested in recent months for allegedly peddling and smuggling ganja along with food packets, the Chennai police have asked companies to approach them for background verification before employing staff.
In their initiative against drugs, the Chennai police have so far seized nearly 1950 kilograms of ganja and arrested over 490 people for smuggling and distributing the contraband.
On September 6, four men including a food delivery person were arrested by Guindy police for allegedly peddling ganja by hiding it in food parcels.
The accused were identified as K Pugazh Jermain, 26 and V Arun, 29, both team leaders in an IT company on OMR, and M Lakshmanan, 27 from Thoraipakkam, the food delivery person. The police also arrested Nivodith, 23, from Anna Nagar as he was also a part of the distribution. The food delivery agent Lakshmanan had hidden 400 grams of ganja in the food packets he was supposed to deliver.
Similarly, in Villivakkam, another food delivery agent was arrested by the police during a vehicle check for having concealed drugs by creating a pocket layer within the four sides of the carriage bag.
In the wake of such events, the Chennai city police commissioner Mahesh Kumar Aggarwal has asked online food delivery companies to make use of the police verification services for background checks before employing agents.
“The service has been there for a long time and companies can apply online through the CCTNS website. The police will also provide a verification certificate to the company about the new recruit,” said the city police commissioner.