KOCHI: Pappadavada restaurant co-owner Amal Nair is likely to be put under preventive detention after he was caught again with MDMA recently. Amal Nair was arrested by Ernakulam South Police for possessing 14 grams of MDMA from Ravipuram last week.
According to police, they are checking for provisions under the Kerala Anti-Social Activities Prevention Act (KAAPA) and Prevention of Illicit Traffic (PIT) in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act to put Amal under preventive detention. Amal is a native of Panampilly Nagar.
“We have started discussions about invoking KAAPA or PIT-NDPS Act after the accused continued with drug trafficking. During our investigation, it was revealed that he continued the drug trade after being released from jail in an NDPS case registered last year. He was found possessing drugs like MDMA and methamphetamine above 10 grams which is commercial quantity as per NDPS Act. A proposal for slapping KAAPA will be prepared by the Kochi City Police Commissioner soon,” a police officer said.
KAAPA can be invoked by the Kochi City Police Commissioner under which the person involved in anti-social activities can be detained for up to one year. PIT-NDPS Act is invoked by the home secretary based on the recommendation of the district police chief. Under PIT-NDPS Act, a person can be detained for a maximum of two years. There are review committees under both KAAPA and PIT-NDPS Act. Kerala Police started invoking PIT-NDPS against drug traffickers who were involved in multiple narcotic cases from last year.
Last year, Cheranelloor police had seized 18 grams of methamphetamine from a parcel that arrived at a courier firm. The investigation revealed Amal’s involvement and he was arrested from Bengaluru later.
He was also booked in an NDPS case linked to a hotel in Fort Kochi last year. “Our investigation revealed that he is a key drug peddler operating in Kochi. He brings drugs like MDMA and methamphetamine from Bengaluru for selling it to customers in Kochi. He also supplies drugs for parties.