Drug seizures in Kochi point to Kuwaiti racket

Kochi: There have been nine major drug seizures and a haul of heroin worth Rs 18 crore in the last two days, which has led Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) officials finding a definite trend in a Kuwait-based gang rerouting its operations through airports in the state of late.

“This pattern emerged after three attempts to smuggle in the drugs from Chennai were caught in the course of a week in September.

The probe into those cases  pointed to a drug syndicate operating from Kuwait. Now the modus operandi in the seizures effected here too are the same,” said Venugopal G Kurup, Superintendent of Police, NCB.

The interrogation of the six accused arrested recently revealed that the drug syndicate is 'recruiting' from among the locals as part of its change in strategy.

“Surprisingly, the accused are all first-timers, most of them being school drop outs who were trying to go to the Gulf countries.

It’s learnt that the gang had deployed a team for recruiting locals. They are mainly looking for depressed and vulnerable people.

They first promise to arrange a visa for them, and when the candidates have no money they ask them to be one-time carriers of the narcotics,” said the officer, or promise them a short trip to the Gulf countries for free if they carried the drugs.

The modus operandi of the gang has been to arrange the heroin and other drugs from Delhi. Then associates bring the consignment to Karipur or Kochi by train and fly out to Kuwait to deliver it.