Kerala Youth trapped by drug cartel jailed in Qatar, mom petitions ministers

KOCHI:  Jaya P R of Varappuzha in Ernakulam district was delighted to know that her elder son, Yashwanth P P, 23, had secured a job in Qatar. And on July 7, with high hopes, the 45-year-old sent him to the West Asian country preparing to host the FIFA World Cup. Little did the mother-son duo imagine they had walked into a trap laid by an international drug-trafficking racket through its Kochi-based agents who offered the job. 

Now, she is desperately knocking on the doors of the authorities concerned to get her son released from a prison in Qatar after he was caught on arrival carrying a parcel containing drugs. “We never expected it to be a trap,” Jaya told TNIE. 

“After completing his course in marine shipping, my son was desperate for a job. We were delighted when he received the offer. There was nothing suspicious in the activities of the agents either. Everything appeared fine until we heard about his arrest in Qatar.” 

Yashwanth flew to Qatar via Dubai from the Kochi airport. While on transit in Dubai, a representative of the agents in Kerala handed him a parcel asking to to be delivered to a person in Qatar. “My son didn’t suspect the parcel contained drugs. We have petitioned Union Minister V Muraleedharan and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan seeking their intervention in getting him released. We have been getting positive responses and are expecting his release soon,” Jaya said.

The Kerala Police, which probed the activities of the agents based on a complaint lodged by Jaya, had arrested three persons — Niyas, 33, of Edathala, Ashique Shemeer, 25, of Iramalloor, Kothamangalam, and Ratheesh, 26, of Vaikom. “The arrested persons are part of an international drug-trafficking network. More people from Kerala are suspected to be involved,” said a police officer.