KOCHI: Back-to-back cases of MDMA seizures in the city have revealed the drug rackets’ practice of using youngsters aged between 20 and 30 with no criminal antecedents to carry out the deals.The police found that the rackets also spend money on legal fees to ensure the release of the arrested youths to make them remain loyal to the racket and continue with the trafficking.
It was after the arrest of Irshad S, 22, and Noufal K N, 30, of Eda Kochi in a drug case that the police noticed that a lot of ‘freshers’ are working as couriers for the rackets in the city. Irshad was nabbed for alleged possession of 09.49 grams of MDMA. “We conducted a detailed probe into his background and found that he had no criminal records. This shows that the rackets are managing to lure more youngsters into trafficking,” said a senior police officer.
Irshad, who was arrested on November 9, could get bail from the sessions court after the police filed a report stating that he had no previous criminal records. The police filed a similar report in the case of Noufal K N, who was arrested on November 9. As per the probe report, the two were picked up from a lodge at Thevara, Konthuruthy, where they were allegedly camping to sell the contraband to buyers.
The police raided the lodge based on the information that two youths had taken a room in the lodge for drug deals. According to the FIR, the accused carried MDMA in 13 small packets for retail sale. They also had multiple mobile phones with them for contacting customers from different numbers.
“The racket provides financial support to these youngsters for hiring lawyers if they are caught. This is done to ensure that they remain committed to the racket. Also, it’s a pressure tactics to make them stay with the racket forever,” said an officer.