Kochi: An intelligence report submitted months ago saying chemical drugs used to change hands at 'No 18 Hotel' has been kept under wraps without initiating any action, it was learnt.
The swanky Fort Kochi hotel grabbed headlines after the horrific car crash that killed two upcoming models, Ansi Kabeer and Anjana Shajan, on the Vyttila-Edappally bypass early on November 1. The hotel owner Roy George Vayalat and five of his employees were arrested on Wednesday.
A special cell of the Kerala police that probed the drug network in the State had submitted the report. The cell functioned under a director general of police, superintendent and inspector, with sound credentials in gathering information.
The cell was formed in December 2020 based on the chief minister's directive to find and prevent the use of drugs by those in the film industry. It was later extended beyond the film fraternity to educational institutions.
Local police had registered several cases statewide based on the information provided by the cell that reported almost all rave parties hosted in hotels.
'No 18' was in the list of hotels suspected to hold such raves where drugs were used. The list was handed over to the DGP. The hotel reportedly had advance information about a joint raid by customs and excise (enforcement wing) that helped suspected drug peddlers to evade arrest.
