Thrissur: Three members of an international drug trafficking network, including two Nigerian nationals and a woman from Nagaland, have been arrested in Tamil Nadu for allegedly smuggling large quantities of MDMA into Keralam under the cover of a garment export business.

The arrested have been identified as Kingsly V Gochukwu (43) and Amos Ikechukan (43), both Nigerian nationals, and Tsensali Kikon (49), a native of Nagaland. The arrests were made by a special investigation team of the Thrissur Rural Police as part of the state government's anti-narcotics drive, Operation Toofan.

The arrests followed the seizure of 39.390 grams of MDMA from two alleged drug network operatives at Chalingad, within the limits of the Kaipamangalam police station, on November 12. The two accused, Minshad (33), a native of Vazhiyambalam West in Perinjanam, and Shajil (33), of Chakkarapadam in Perinjanam, were arrested by the Thrissur Rural Police and the District Anti-Narcotic Special Action Force (DANSAF).

Police said Minshad was a history-sheeter involved in several criminal cases and was also listed as a station rowdy.

Following the arrests, a special investigation team was formed under Thrissur Rural District Police Chief Mohammed Nadeem IPS, on the directions of Thrissur Range DIG Narayanan T IPS, to trace the main suppliers behind the network. The investigation was supervised by Kodungallur DySP R Ratheesh and Narcotic Cell DySP S Pradeep.

The investigation revealed that an international drug manufacturing and distribution network operating from Tiruppur in Tamil Nadu had allegedly supplied MDMA to Minshad and Shajil.

According to police, the network operated under the cover of a garment import-export business. Kingsly allegedly ran a company based in Tiruppur that imported and exported garments to and from foreign countries. Investigators found that Minshad and Shajil had allegedly procured large quantities of MDMA from the network on several occasions while posing as customers involved in the garment trade.

Police suspect that Kingsly had been using the business as a front to transport large quantities of synthetic drugs to Kerala and other states. Further investigation is under way to establish the extent of the network's operations.

Acting on a tip-off that the accused were hiding in an isolated locality at Iduvai Palayam in Tiruppur, the special team travelled to Tamil Nadu to track them down.

The hideout was in an area reportedly inhabited by a large number of Nigerian nationals, with high-breed dogs guarding the premises. Police said the locality was difficult for outsiders to access.

On spotting the police team, the accused allegedly locked themselves inside a room and flushed drugs and raw materials used in their manufacture down the toilet. The police team broke a window to enter the room and overpower them.

During the operation, a group of Nigerian nationals from the locality allegedly surrounded the police team in an attempt to help the accused escape. The officers managed to leave the area with the arrested persons under armed protection, police said.

A 10-member team carried out the operation under the supervision of Kodungallur DySP R Ratheesh Kumar and Narcotic Cell DySP S Pradeep.
Kaipamangalam CI V V Vimal, DANSAF Sub-Inspectors C R Pradeep, P P Jayakrishnan, M Satheesan and T R Shine, along with other police personnel, were part of the investigation team.

The accused were brought to the Kaipamangalam police station and will be produced before a court after completing the necessary procedures.