Drug trade: Investigation unveils Pakistan link

KOCHI: After fake currency and terrorism, narcotic drugs from Pakistan have started coming to Kerala, if the recent police records are any indication.  

While investigating drug cases involving Keralites, the Police, Excise Department and the Narcotic Control Bureau (NCB) have received concrete evidence to establish regular flow of drugs from Pakistan to the State.

In June, the Jammu and Kashmir Police had arrested Malappuram-natives Jithin and Nizamudheen while attempting to transport ten kg of high-quality heroin and a similar quantity of brown sugar from Tangdhar in Kupwara district to Kerala via Punjab, in one of the largest hauls.  

It was found that the drugs, concealed inside a car, were smuggled from across the Line of Control (LoC).    
In the most recent case, the Special Branch of the Kochi Police arrested three persons with methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), commonly known as ‘ecstasy’ or ‘molly,’ in the city. The police found that the arrested persons used to travel to Kashmir by flight and procure MDMA from there.
The police have identified a Palluruthy-native as the main supplier of the drugs.  

Deputy Commissioner of Police Arul R B Krishna said the supply chain, including the route through which the drugs reached Keala, was being investigated. “It is suspected that the drugs arrived from across the border, and it is being investigated whether it has come from Pakistan. Scrutiny of the money transaction involved in the  operation confirmed that the gang is having international links,” he said.

In a similar case, the Excise Department had arrested five persons from Aluva with 1.5 kg of brown sugar last year, which was procured from a suspected Pakistani agent in Srinagar.    The Narcotic Control Bureau (NCB) has found out that drug rackets in Kerala have moved to Kashmir for procuring narcotic substances like brown sugar, heroin and MDMA.   

“Now, drugs started entering the country through the porous borders of Jammu and Kashmir. The money is transacted through hawala operators based in Dubai. In most cases, the kingpins of the gangs operate from the Middle East and remain unidentifiable,” said an NCB official.