Kasaragod: On a grey morning in late April, truck drivers and close friends Biju Mathew (49) and Manikandan (46) stepped out of Kozhikode District Prison — not as free men but as wreckage of reckless policing.

After 151 days in prison, the court finally realised what the two friends had been saying from day one — that the 58 gm of crystal the police seized wasn't party drug MDMA. It was crystal sugar. Bought from a local shop. Meant for Manikandan's children. Not contraband.

But by the time the lab confirmed what Biju and Manikandan had begged police to verify with a simple taste, they had already spent 151 days in jail. "We told them to taste it if they didn’t believe us. Prison inmates familiar with the drug told us that MDMA was bitter," said Biju, a native of Malakkallu in Kasaragod's Kallar grama panchayat.

Their harrowing journey began on November 25, 2024, when Manikandan, a restaurant cook in Mangaluru and a native of Varam in Kannur, called Biju about a container truck driving job in Kozhikode.

"Manikandan and I met at Kanhangad railway station and boarded the Malabar train to Kozhikode," he said. In Kozhikode, they checked into a lodge at Nadakkavu. "Overnight, we shared a drink, and for a snack, we used the crystal sugar Manikandan bought for his children. We had nothing else," said Biju.

On November 26, the two friends stepped out around 10 am for breakfast. "We were walking on the median when a police jeep pulled over before us," he said.

They identified themselves as officers of the Kozhikode District Anti-Narcotics Special Action Force (DANSAF) and frisked the two men. "I think they were after someone else. Manikandan was wearing army fatigue pants and I was also dressed well. Perhaps that attracted their attention," Biju said.

The police officers found a plastic packet with the crystals inside and concluded it was MDMA. When they proceeded to arrest Manikandan, he had a seizure attack and was taken to Kozhikode Medical College. "I was taken to Nadakavu police station," said Biju.

Police booked the two under the stringent Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. Those caught with psychotropic drugs such as MDMA above 10 gm — considered commercial quantities — face up to 20 years in prison under the Act.

After a night in prison, police took Biju Mathew to the special judge hearing NDPS cases in Vadakara on November 27, 2024. The court remanded Biju in judicial custody for 14 days. Manikandan was remanded in custody from the hospital. "We pleaded with the police to get our clothes from the lodge. We had packed for a month to be on the road driving a truck. The police searched the room but did not get our clothes," he said.

After 14 days, the police took them into custody. They pleaded again to taste the alleged contraband. They did not. Instead, they were sent back to prison. Since they could not afford any lawyers, the court appointed one for them.

In prison, they came to know that MDMA melts in moisture. "Police assumed that the plastic wrap was to protect the crystals from melting," said Biju, who used to drive passenger buses on the Kanhangad-Kozhikode route. "We had never smoked a cigarette before," he said. "Occasionally, we drink. But I have never seen MDMA."

Back home in Malakkal, Biju’s absence hollowed out his small house. His 76-year-old mother, who cannot walk without a stick, lived alone for five months. His wife had divorced him before the incident.

After five months, the test report arrived. "We were asked to flee from the prison as the results came out negative for MDMA," said Biju Mathew, breaking into a laugh for the first time during the conversation.

They formally discharged the two drivers of all the charges on May 13. "That's when we got back our mobile phones and driving licences," he said.

Manikandan's old phone had a battery leak and it was destroyed. "My phone was brand new, so it survived the court’s possession," he said. "But I have nothing to wear -- I lost all my clothes at the lodge."

Back in their villages, the two truck drivers began the uphill task of finding jobs. "But the taunts and mockery are unbearable," Biju said. Auto drivers who once offered him lifts now slow down only to sneer as they pass. "Even my closest friends won't speak to me. Last Sunday, when I went to church, not a single person smiled at me."

Manikandan, he said, had just managed to find work at a restaurant in Iritty. Asked if he planned to sue the police for the ordeal, Biju said he didn’t even have the money to hire an autorickshaw. "All I want is a job. In 27 years of driving buses and trucks, I’ve never had an accident. I just hope someone hires me," he said. "Because right now, I’m fighting hunger."