1 week ago
Kerala Excise Busts MDMA Racket Using Women Carriers
Kerala officials say they have broken up a group accused of moving an illegal drug called MDMA.
Four people were arrested in two related operations.
In the first operation, officials found 49.3 grams of MDMA at a hotel in Kaloor.
One of the people arrested there was an 18-year-old woman.
Later, officials stopped a vehicle in Vyttila and found 230 grams of MDMA hidden under the steering wheel.
They also found three grams of hashish oil, mobile phones, and cash.
Officials allege that the group brought drugs from Delhi to Kerala using women as carriers.
They say the drugs were then sold to young people.
If convicted in a commercial-quantity case, the accused could face 10 to 20 years in prison, according to the officials.
Kerala Excise officials arrested four people in two operations linked to an alleged MDMA racket.
Officials recovered 279.3 grams of MDMA in total, along with three grams of hashish oil.
Two people, including an 18-year-old woman, were arrested with 49.3 grams of MDMA at a Kaloor hotel.
A vehicle stopped at Vyttila contained 230 grams of MDMA in a compartment under the steering wheel.
Officials alleged the group brought MDMA from Delhi using women as carriers and retailed it in Kerala.
- Who
- Kerala Excise officials arrested four alleged members of the racket, including Varun Dev and Vipin S Kumar.
- What
- Officials said they uncovered an alleged Delhi-to-Kerala MDMA trafficking operation and recovered 279.3 grams of MDMA.
- Where
- The operations took place at a luxury hotel in Kaloor and at Vyttila in Ernakulam district, Kerala.
- When
- The first arrests occurred a few days before Sunday, August 23; the vehicle interception took place on Saturday.
- Why
- Officials allege that the group transported MDMA to Kerala using women as carriers and sold it there.
Key facts
- Arrests
- Four people were arrested in two operations involving members of the same alleged racket.
- MDMA recovered
- Officials reported recovering 279.3 grams of MDMA in total.
- Kaloor operation
- Two people, including an 18-year-old woman, were arrested with 49.3 grams of MDMA at a luxury hotel.
- Vyttila operation
- Officials recovered 230 grams of MDMA and three grams of hashish oil from a vehicle.
- Vehicle concealment
- The 230 grams of MDMA was allegedly hidden in a compartment under the steering wheel.
- Other seizures
- Six mobile phones and Rs 69,500 in cash were also recovered.
- Potential sentence
- Officials said commercial-quantity NDPS cases carry a minimum sentence of 10 years and a maximum of 20 years.
Quotes
S Vinod Kumar
Joint Excise Commissioner who described the investigation and arrests
“Their modus operandi involves travelling to Delhi in this Mahindra Thar SUV, using women as carriers to bring the contraband in the vehicle to Keralam, and then retailing it here. Among them, the most important thing to note is that the girl caught in the first case turns 19 years old only in November this year,”
deccanchronicle.com
theprint.in
“Upon arresting and interrogating the two individuals, information was received regarding a person named Varun Dev, a wholesale dealer who traffics MDMA into Keralam. On getting information that they were coming to Ernakulam district on Saturday and that a deal was likely to take place, a search was conducted,”
deccanchronicle.com
theprint.in
Sources
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