Kochi MDMA case: After row, Excise officials arrest woman who was initially let off

Crime

The investigating officers had come under fire for not mentioning any accused in the second FIR of the 1.17 kg MDMA seizure case in Kochi.

TNM Staff

Courtesy - Asianet screengrab

The Excise Crime Branch, which is investigating the massive drug bust in Kochi involving the seizure of around 1.17 kg of MDMA from an apartment, has arrested a 24-year-old woman. A resident of Pathanamthitta, the woman has been identified as Thaiba and was initially nabbed along with the other people who have been apprehended and named accused in the First Information Report (FIR). However, the officials let her and another man off after questioning, which triggered a row as reports pointed a major lapse in recording arrests in the drug case.  It was on August 18 that the officials of State Excise Enforcement Squad, along with the Customs Department in Kochi, based on a tip-off, raided an apartment in Vazhakkala in Ernakulam. They seized 83 grams of MDMA, a psychoactive drug that is banned in the country. Though seven people, including two women, were nabbed, the Excise Enforcement and Anti-Narcotic Special Squad officers in Ernakulam let off a woman (Thaiba) and another man. The first FIR was registered against five other persons in the group.  A day later, the team raided the same apartment complex again and seized 1.085 kg of MDMA from a parking lot near the building. However, the second FIR prepared by the Excise Enforcement and Anti-Narcotic Special Squad does not mention any accused. This raised allegations against the Excise department officials, for attempting to sabotage the case and protect the accused. The case was then handed over to the Excise Crime Branch.  Amid this, a few media outlets aired visuals of one of the accused women, Shabna, asking the officers why the other woman (Thaiba) was let off. A CCTV footage from the apartment also surfaced on August 26, showing the two women (Shabna and Thaiba) trying to hide a package allegedly containing MDMA.  According to reports, along with MDMA, the officials also seized Rs 5,000 and a deer antler (an illegal possession) in the second raid. However, these seized articles have not been recorded in the FIR. After these major lapses in the case surfaced, the Excise Department suspended N Shankar, Inspector of the Ernakulam Excise Enforcement and Anti-Narcotic Special Squad. Though the state Excise Enforcement Squad seized the banned substance, the arrests were recorded by the Excise Enforcement and Anti-Narcotic Special Squad as the incident happened outside the jurisdiction of the former. According to officials, the man, who was also let off along with Thaiba, will also be taken into custody in the coming days. According to sources in the Excise Department, it was after efforts of over two months that the State Excise Enforcement Squad managed to seize the accused persons, who brought massive quantities of MDMA from Chennai and Puducherry. According to the tip-off, the drug was being transported in a private vehicle, which also had a few female passengers and exotic dogs. This was allegedly done to give the impression that they were a family, and avoid any suspicion. However, before the officers could intercept the team on the road, the accused had reached the flat near Kakkanad. The accused have been arrested under various sections of the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985 — sections 25 (whoever having the control or use of any house knowingly allows it to be used for the commission of an offence), 22(c) (possession of drugs in commercial quantity) and 29 (party to criminal conspiracy).

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