₹1.2 cr worth MDMA hidden in air coolers seized in Kochi, Delhi-linked racket busted

Kochi: What began with the arrest of a man carrying a tiny quantity of MDMA in Palarivattom led Kochi police to a much larger drug pipeline, one in which air coolers and a cooling cabinet-cum-water filter were turned into carriers for nearly 2 kg of MDMA worth around ₹1.2 crore.

The District Anti-Narcotics Special Action Force (DANSAF) and Mattancherry Police seized 1.993 kg of MDMA and arrested two men, uncovering a Delhi-Kochi supply chain in which new electrical appliances were allegedly dismantled, packed with drugs and sent by train as private courier consignments.

The breakthrough came after T A Safeer, a man from Thayakattu in Mattancherry, was detained by DANSAF near Karuppath Junction in Palarivattom around 9 pm on Thursday with a small quantity of MDMA.

Palarivattom police registered a case against him and recovered 0.01g MDMA from him. His interrogation led investigators to Noufal (32), an online-taxi driver living in a rented house at Chakkarayidukku in Mattancherry.

“We had confidential information that a drug business was being operated here. When the person caught at Palarivattom was questioned, we got information about Noufal and searched his house,” a DANSAF officer told Onmanorama.

The DANSAF recovered 13.9 grams of MDMA from Noufal during a body search. But the interrogation that followed pointed investigators away from the house and towards his car parked near Chemmeens Junction in Karuvelipady, around 4 km away from his house.

When investigators searched the vehicle, they found the bulk consignment of drugs. The reason for the distance, according to the officer, was deliberate.

“The vehicle was kept far away so that even if the police searched his house and caught him, they would not find the bulk quantity there,” the officer said.

New appliances as drug couriers
Inside the vehicle were three air coolers and a cooling cabinet-cum-water filter that had allegedly been used to conceal the MDMA before the consignment was transported from Delhi.

The method was strikingly simple. “They buy new electrical appliances, unscrew them and use the gaps inside to place packets of MDMA. They then screw the appliances back together. From outside, they look like fresh, new products,” the DANSAF officer said.

“They send the appliances by private courier by train, so there is no checking as there would be if the drug itself were being sent. Once the consignment reaches here, they collect it, take out the drugs and dispose of the appliances,” the officer added.

Investigators said the network has links to Malayali associates in Delhi who allegedly arrange the procurement and dispatch of the drugs. The MDMA is reportedly sourced for ₹800-₹900 per gram and brought to Kerala, where it is sold in smaller quantities at several times the purchase price.

“The people here are Malayalis too. They go there, buy the drugs and have them sent to the address. They conceal them inside electrical equipment and, once they arrive here, unpack them and retail the drugs in small quantities,” the officer said.

At the Kerala end, police suspect Noufal was functioning as a wholesale supplier, though investigators believe he was working for others who financed the operation. “He is doing this for others. They cannot raise this much money on their own,” the officer said.

The police are now trying to identify the people who financed the consignment and those higher up the supply chain. The accused have not disclosed the source of the money, the officer said.

Five packets, two already in the market
According to the police, the seized consignment was part of five packets. Three were recovered from the car, while two had allegedly already been taken away by Noufal’s associates and pushed into the market.“We have to trace the people who took the two packets,” the officer said.

The development has also raised the possibility that the quantity originally brought into Kochi could have been larger than the amount recovered.

The seized 1.993 kg of MDMA is estimated to be worth around ₹1.2 crore in the local illicit market, with the drug reportedly fetching ₹5,000-₹6,000 per gram.

The police suspect Safeer was not merely a customer in the network. According to the DANSAF officer, the man detained at Palarivattom had allegedly ordered the consignment from Delhi, while Noufal was acting on his behalf at the local end.

However, police do not consider either man to be the final kingpin. “There are likely to be people above him as well. None of them has disclosed anything yet. That will come out only through the investigation,” the officer said.

Noufal, an unmarried 32-year-old, has allegedly been involved in the drug trade for several years and has four to five previous cases, including NDPS and theft cases. The police said he had also spent time in custody in connection with earlier cases.

Preventive detention proceedings under the Kerala Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act (KAAPA) had previously been recommended against him, but the proceedings were not finalised.

The case has been handed over to Mattancherry Police, which registered a case under the relevant commercial-quantity provisions of the NDPS Act. The police are expected to seek Noufal’s custody for further interrogation.