KOCHI: The visit of an Omani citizen to the city and his activities during his stay are being probed after the police found out that he was an accused in a drug case in Mangaluru and the staff of the hotel where he stayed here allegedly tried to keep it a secret by not submitting the mandatory Form C to the police.
The police who launched a probe into the incident have registered a case against the owner and staff of Q-One Plaza in Pallimukku for violating the Foreigners (Amendment) Act, 2004. Police officials said these persons failed to submit Form C as per the Act during the stay of 34-year-old Ahmed Mohammed Musabah Al Mamari (passport no: GX 6068168).
“This Omani national is involved in a crime registered at Mangaluru North police station for offences under the NDPS Act. Though he checked in to the hotel here on August 22, it was not informed to the special branch,” said a senior police official.As per the probe details, the Omani stayed in the hotel from August 22 to August 29 and again from September 1 to September 9.
The police said the hotel authorities furnished Form C only after the Foreigners Registration Office (FRRO) issued a show-cause notice. “We are collecting more details about his visit after we got an information about his links with drug suppliers. A probe is on to ascertain who all he had met during his stay in Kochi and to all places he travelled from Kochi,” said an intelligence officer.
Officers said the Omani was nabbed by Manguluru police for possession of MDMA and ganja. “He is suspected to be associated with some drug peddlers in Goa. He was in Goa before reaching Mangaluru and then proceeding to Kochi,” a police official said.
As per the FIR registered by Mangaluru police, the Omani was arrested along with a person from Himachal Pradesh from a hotel room in the city on June 14. A laptop and three mobile phones of the foreigner were seized from the hotel room. “He left Mangaluru after getting bail,” the official added.
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