Biggest MDMA haul in country worth Rs 30 crore

Kochi: A team of Excise Enforcement and Anti-Narcotic squad of Ernakulam on Saturday have seized 5 kg Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) estimated to fetch Rs 30 cr in international market and arrested two persons in connection with it. According excise commissioner Rishi Raj Singh this is the biggest haul of MDMA recorded in the country.      The arrested has been identified as Faisal 34, son of Alavai belonging to Kaippully Veetil near Mannarkkad in Palakkad and Abdul Salam 34, son of Alavi Thattayi Veetil near Mannarkkad.

The drug popularly known as Ecstasy has been suspected to be sources from Afghanistan and brought to Kochi via Kashmir to be sent abroad to destinations like Kuwait.   The Alto car used for carrying the contraband was also seized by the officials. The drug was concealed in specially designed chambers and covered with carbon paper to escape detection during scanning. According to the special squad circle inspector Saji Lakshmanan the two arrested has said that they have received the contraband from Palakkad railway station. The two were supposed to handover the material to two persons belonging to Kozhikode near the Kochi International Airport.

The special squad has been trailing the racket for the past three months before the arrest and seizure was made on Saturday.    According to the excise officials a man belonging to Kochi has been managing the racket based in Kuwait. “We could identify him and he is controlling the whole transaction over internet call. There is no connection between the men employed at different stages”, officials said. In most cases the person traveling with the drug is not aware of the packed stuff in the bag. It is understood that in December a man was caught at Dubai airport and now he is imprisoned there, officials said. Excise commissioner has announced a cash reward '25,000 for the excise team responsible for the seizure.