New smuggling trick busted in Kochi: Ganja concealed in welded iron boxes, cops take an hour to break one open

Kochi: No locks, no hinges and no visible openings. Just three heavy iron boxes, welded shut from all sides, supposedly carrying decorative items. But when police intercepted the unusual consignment at Eloor, in Kochi, they discovered an elaborate new method adopted by drug smugglers to transport ganja into Kerala without raising suspicion.

The Kochi City District Anti-Narcotics Special Action Force (DANSAF) seized around 20 kg of ganja concealed in three such boxes and took a West Bengal native into custody in connection with the smuggling operation.

Police sources said that the concealment was so elaborate that even the police could not open the boxes. Fire and Rescue Services personnel had to be roped in with metal-cutting equipment and sledgehammers. It took them nearly an hour to cut through the thick sheets and break open just one of the boxes, revealing tightly packed ganja inside.

The accused, identified as Sukhchand Sekh, a native of Murshidabad in West Bengal, had allegedly been operating as a major drug dealer in the region. The police said he had been under DANSAF's surveillance for the past five to six months.

According to the police, the smugglers had gone to extraordinary lengths to ensure that the contraband remained undetected during its journey across multiple states.

“The ganja was compressed and packed inside three elongated, square-shaped iron boxes, each measuring approximately one metre in length. Thick iron sheets were then welded together, completely sealing the boxes without leaving any visible opening through which the contents could be examined,” said a DANSAF official.

The fabrication was carried out in Odisha itself, where the ganja was allegedly procured at relatively low prices.

During transportation, the sealed metal boxes were passed off as containers holding fragile decorative items. The police said the accused had been purchasing ganja in Odisha and selling it in Kerala at nearly five times the procurement price per kilogram.

Investigators said Sekh deliberately avoided travelling directly from Odisha to Kerala, apparently to escape surveillance and routine checks along the interstate route.

"If he came directly, he would get caught here, so these guys diverted and came," a DANSAF officer explained.

After the ganja was packed and sealed inside the iron boxes in Odisha, the consignment was transported to Bengaluru. From there, Sekh boarded an interstate luxury passenger bus carrying the three heavy boxes to Kerala.

He alighted at the Aluva bus stand, where he sought assistance to load the bulky consignment into an autorickshaw. From Aluva, he travelled to Eloor, where the boxes were to be unloaded and handed over to a local contact.

According to police, the local associate was expected to arrive at the designated location, assist in transporting the boxes and coordinate their distribution. However, by then, he was caught.

The operation was carried out under the supervision of Narcotic Cell Assistant Commissioner of Police K A Ananthalal, who led the team on the ground.

Plainclothes officers tracked Sekh's movements as he travelled from Aluva to Eloor.

“As soon as he reached the designated location and unloaded the iron boxes, the officers surrounded him and took him into custody before the local associate could arrive. The next challenge was figuring out how to open the boxes. Fire and Rescue Services personnel were called in with specialised metal-cutting equipment and sledgehammers,” said a police officer.

Despite the equipment, it took nearly an hour to break open the first box and retrieve the compressed ganja packed inside.

“When ganja from one box was weighed, it came to 8 kg. We assume the remaining boxes have the same quantity and if so, it will exceed 20 kg, which is a commercial quantity,” Ananthalal said, explaining the recovery during the operation.

Investigators are now examining the larger network behind the unusual smuggling operation, including the suppliers in Odisha, those involved in fabricating and transporting the welded boxes, and the intended recipients in Kerala.

The police are also trying to trace the financial transactions associated with the racket.