KOCHI: Drug traffickers have taken to a new method to lure customers by launching mobile units that carry drug ampoules and administer the dose to the customers as per their requirement.
The city police, on Sunday, unearthed the modus operandi of the drug racket after they impounded a luxury car at Thoppumpady in which two persons were carrying with them 1,100 ampoules of drugs, syringes and packets of ganja.
The arrested persons have been identified as Abdul Kareem, 38, of Thuruth in Aluva, and Hussain, 34, of Seellathu Parambu in Mattanchery. Police said the duo were part of an inter-state racket which peddles drug ampoules from neighbouring states and supplies it to local agents who target colleges students in the city.
“They carry the drug in high-end cars to avoid the police. Usually, the customers are given their dose inside the car. For this, they carry disposable syringes,” a police official said.
The official said that though the duo tried to give the police a slip during the vehicle check, they were arrested after the shadow police team, in coordination with the Thoppumpady police, successfully chased the car. The racket was busted based on an intelligence input provided by City Police Commissioner M R Ajith Kumar and in a coordinated operation carried out under the supervision of Deputy Police Commissioner P A Valsan and Special Branch Assistant Commissioner M Shamsu Illikkal.
The police said they had launched a detailed probe to track the other racket members in the city, who target school and college students. “We strongly suspect the presence of similar rackets in the city which use luxury cars for supplying ampoules to local agents and customers,” the police said.
In the last two days, the city police have been able to arrest three persons and seize over 1,200 ampoules.