KOCHI: Amid growing concerns that Ernakulam district is becoming a hub for narcotics, the police have found that persons under the age of 30 form a bulk of the carriers smuggling drugs into the district. Notably, the rise in the number of female carriers is also posing a significant challenge to the police.
A major breakthrough was achieved with the arrest of a Bengaluru woman found possessing 1 kg of MDMA, marking one of the largest single seizures of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances by the Ernakulam Rural police and the district Dansaf team.
“There is a trend of drug peddlers preferring females as carriers, believing that they won’t have to undergo serious inspections,” a top police source told TNIE.
They typically use interstate tourist buses, trains, and other public transportation for smuggling, he said.
Most peddlers expand their gangs by enticing female carriers, feigning love. They then compel these women into continuing the smuggling, either through force or by threatening to expose their nude videos, he added.
“Drugs entering Kerala mostly come from Bengaluru, Delhi, Chennai, and Goa, and are primarily targeted at students, professionals in private firms, and celebrities,” the officer pointed out.
Narcotic drugs that cost Rs 5,000 per gram at source are sold for Rs 10,000 in the market. Depending on the quality and demand, the price can be adjusted to the peddler’s desired amount, he added.
Responding to a query on international connections in drug smuggling, another police officer said: “The involvement of foreign nationals in smuggling poses a significant challenge to the police in disrupting drug-supply chains. They often enter India under the guise of studying or playing football.”
However, the rural police recently apprehended a Congo national, suspected to be the kingpin of an international drug-trafficking racket and a notorious ‘cook’ of synthetic drugs, from Bengaluru while he was smuggling drugs on a tourist bus.
Meanwhile, Ernakulam rural district police chief Vaibhav Saxena stated that college students, especially female students, were attracted towards these gangs to earn money quickly.
“An eye-popping profit of around 300 to 400% forces them to be involved in drug smuggling.
We reached those female carriers through the information collected from peer groups. The cyber investigation capability of the police department also helped us reach their den,” he said.
Saxena said that the squad is working to break the supply chains of drug smuggling.
“Our stringent operations have led to an increase in the number of NDPS cases. Despite focusing on arrests, the subsequent investigations aim to identify everyone involved in the drug-smuggling network,” he said.
Shrewd moves
Drug peddlers prefer females as carriers as they won’t have to ndergo serious inspections
They typically use interstate buses, trains, and other public transportation for smuggling
Most peddlers expand their gangs by enticing female carriers, feigning love.