Kanhangad: Pot smugglers in Kerala have an easy prey in first-time air travelers. Even as many expat workers from Kerala languish in foreign jails for carrying a jar of pickle or a pair of trousers with minute ganja packs stuck inside, the smugglers are on the prowl for more such unsuspecting carriers.
If you are planning your first trip abroad, chances are greater for strangers, or even friends, to approach you with seemingly harmless requests to carry something for their friends or relatives. Going by the harrowing experiences some of the expats have gone through, it is best to say a polite but firm no to them, the police advise.
Smugglers have devised ingenious methods to hide the weeds from the mechanical eyes at the airport. They may hide it in meat products or sweet boxes, medicines or garments.
Haneefa from Kanhangad learned it the hard way. The expat worker in Sharjah obliged his friend’s request to carry a dress for him when he returned after vacation. It was a special dress bought for the occasion of Ramzan, he was told.
Haneefa passed through the airport security clearance at Sharjah safely. But he grew suspicious when his friend kept calling him. He opened the packet and found the weeds, and landed in trouble in the process. The information was passed on to Kanhangad and the police nabbed the smuggler who had tricked Haneefa. Miyad from Hosadurg was the dealer in this case.
Rashid from Meenappis beach near Kanhangad had a similar experience. The man who went for work in Kuwait is still in jail. His crime: he carried a “bottle of medicine” given to him by two men from Pazhayangadi. Airport security found that the bottle contained narcotics.
Another family at Manjeswaram escaped such a plight by a whisker. Someone had requested the air traveler to carry a pair of trousers for his friend in the foreign country. A strange smell alerted the traveler who examined the parcel and found packs of ganja neatly tucked into the trousers’ pockets and waistline. The gift was promptly handed over to the police.
Be safe than sorry, the police tell inexperienced air travelers.