Police chalk out action plan to counter drug trafficking by migrant labourers

KOCHI: The back-to-back arrests of young natives of Assam, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh for possession of drugs, mainly heroin and hashish, from the district’s rural areas have prompted the police to devise an action plan to check drug trafficking by migrant labourers to Kerala.

Besdies undertaking awareness programmes among the migrant labourers, special squads under anti-narcotic wing have been formed to keep track of the activities of a list of suspects prepared based on prior cases, background checks and inputs provided by those who were arrested earlier for drug trafficking.

“We have put in place a strong action plan to counter drug trafficking by migrant workers. Special drives will be conducted and a close watch maintained,”said district rural police chief Vivek Kumar.He said while a few migrant labourers act as conduits of the drug trafficking rackets, a majority of them take up drug trafficking for easy money.

The police have expanded the probe to a racket operating from Andhra Pradesh that brings in the contraband to Kerala.“We are also tracking the accomplices of the arrested. It’s suspected that the agents of the drug cartels deliver the contraband to these migrant labourers outside the state, probably in Karnataka, and direct them to smuggle it to Kerala at their own risk,” said the police officer.