Chandera MDMA case: Kasaragod police arrest kingpin, get custody of Youth Congress workers

Kasaragod: The police on Thursday arrested a 33-year-old Kasaragod native whom they describe as the “kingpin” in the Chandera MDMA case, days after four Youth Congress workers from Ernakulam were arrested allegedly with 139.29 grams of the synthetic drug at Kalikkadavu on the border of Kasaragod and Kannur districts.

The arrest of Mohammed Sabir K, a native of Parapally in Pullur-Periya panchayat, marks the first arrest of a Kasaragod native in the case, said District Police Chief Nidhinraj P. "He was actively involved in sourcing narcotic drugs from Bengaluru and Delhi. He is the kingpin," the officer said.  

The 17-member special investigation team led by Kanhangad DySP Anil Kumar M V arrested Sabir in Ambalathara, near his house in Parapally, on August 19. Sabir has a cover job but is allegedly involved in drug trafficking, said Nidhinraj. He had also previously been involved in drug-related offences, according to the police.

The case has drawn political attention in Kerala as the three persons arrested initially -- Abdul Salam P A (27), Muhammed Hussain K H (28), and Abbas P A (50) -- are linked to the Youth Congress. Chief Minister V D Satheesan has acknowledged that he personally knew two of the accused, Muhammad Hussain and Abdul Salam, but denied claims that they handled his social media accounts. A fourth accused, Sainul Abideen E S (42), said to be Sabir's man, was subsequently arrested. All four are natives of Arakkapady village near Perumbavoor in Ernakulam district.

Hussain was the president of the Youth Congress Vengola panchayat 142 booth committee, while Salam and Abbas are also active Youth Congress workers in the Arakkapady area. On Thursday, the four accused were produced before the Kasaragod Sessions Court, which granted police custody for three days, as sought by the investigators, for questioning.

The police now claim that Sabir was the person actively sourcing narcotics from outside the state and that the four Ernakulam-based accused were connected to him.

‘Called to homestay and framed’
When the accused were produced before the Kasaragod Sessions Court on Thursday, accused Abdul Salam claimed that they had been implicated in the case. "I was called to Royal Homestay in Payyannur and framed,” Salam told reporters while being taken from court. He said he would speak to the media in detail after his release.

Muhammad Hussain also said he had not committed any wrongdoing. They will be in police custody till August 22. The drug was seized on August 9, when the group was allegedly travelling from Perumbavoor towards Kasaragod in a Swift car. The DANSAF special squad intercepted them at Kalikkadavu, on the Kasaragod-Kannur border.

Chandera police, led by SI Manu P Cheriyan, subsequently seized 139.29 grams of MDMA from the accused.

₹49 lakh trail to Bengaluru
The police investigation has also uncovered a financial trail involving a Bengaluru-based woman named Riya. According to the police, the accused transferred around ₹49 lakh to Riya's bank account within two months in connection with drug transactions.

Police suspect that Riya helped the accused procure MDMA from a Nigerian drug network in Bengaluru. Investigators have also found that she accompanied Sainul Abid when he travelled to Bengaluru to purchase MDMA.

When asked about the ₹49 lakh transaction, District Police Chief Nidhinraj did not deny the information but declined to disclose further details, saying the police had more information that would be released as the investigation progresses.

The seizure involved a commercial quantity of MDMA, and a case has been registered under Section 22(c) of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act. If convicted, they face up to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment.