Kasaragod:
The alleged financier behind the 3.5kg of MDMA seized from a house in Uppala in September 2024 was intercepted at the Kozhikode International Airport while attempting to fly to Dubai.

Shamsudheen (34), a resident of Thrissur, was detained on Monday as he prepared to board a flight with his parents and wife, said Manjeshwar Station House Officer, Inspector Ajith Kumar P. “We had summoned him several times for questioning, but he never turned up. A lookout notice was issued recently. He was unaware of it,” the officer said.

The 3.5kg MDMA seizure by Melparamba and Manjeshwar police on September 20, 2024, stands as Kerala’s second-biggest haul of the party drug, next only to the 5.2kg recovered near the Nedumbassery airport in February 2018.

Police had stumbled upon the 3.5kg cache during a routine vehicle check at Melparamba, south of Kasaragod town, when the then SHO Santhosh Kumar arrested a man with a small quantity of marijuana. During questioning, he said he sourced it from Uppala, a border town near Manjeshwar, notorious for drug-fuelled gang wars and shootouts.

Acting on the lead, a team headed by the then Bekal DySP V V Manoj and Inspector Santosh Kumar raided the house of Askar Ali at Padyadi in Uppala. Inside an unused room, tucked inside a trolley bag, officers found 3.5kg of MDMA crystals, along with small quantities of marijuana, cocaine and party pills.

The seizure shocked neighbours and family as Askar Ali was known to be a good-natured athlete who did not even smoke. 
Police suspected Askar Ali was merely a mule. Scrutiny of his bank accounts revealed heavy cash movements consistent with a wider network sourcing narcotics through anonymised messaging platforms. The inquiry eventually led investigators to Shamsudheen.

Police alleged he financed the operation and arranged the carriers who moved the narcotics. Officers said he had previously spent time in jail in a West Asian country, possibly in connection with a drug case.

During questioning after his arrest, he reportedly told investigators that the MDMA was valued at Rs 2,000 per gram, placing the worth of the 3.5kg haul at roughly Rs 70 lakh, which could be an understatement, officers said.

Shamsudheen was produced before the court and remanded in judicial custody for two weeks. Meanwhile, the first accused, Askar Ali, from whose house the narcotics were seized, had secured bail a few months after his arrest.