While trying to block the road and arrest them, a Kochi narcotic drug mafia gang rammed their automobile into a police jeep. One of the accused was arrested within hours by the Sub-Inspector (SI)and his team, who did not back down from the mission even though his hand was injured. Ashiq (30), a resident of Fort Kochi, was arrested.
SI Tijo’s left hand was injured. Two Civil Police Officers (CPO) who accompanied the SI escaped unhurt. The incident occurred during a joint operation by the Ernakulam Rural-Kochi City Police.
The operation was in the case of the accused, who escaped after disposing of a bag containing narcotics drugs to escape the vehicle inspection at Aluva Chengamanad.
Chengamanad police also arrested Sanoop (26), Anzil (23), Shinaz (25), Shaheel Khan (27), and Muhammad Aslam (24). Khan and Aslam helped the accused to escape and stay in hiding.
Following a tip-off that methamphetamine (MDMA) was being smuggled from Bengaluru in a luxury car, the District Anti-Narcotic Special Action Force (DANSAF) team and the Chengamanad police were waiting on the National Highway at Kariyad, on the outskirts of Aluva.
The accused tried to drive the car into the police at high speed without stopping despite the police waving their hands, and the police chased the vehicle. After turning into a narrow lane, the vehicle’s occupants flung the bag in which the narcotics were stored. Police recovered 100 grams of MDMA from the bag thrown near St. Anthony’s Church in Chengamanad.
The police retreated as they got the vehicle’s number, and following on the narrow road would be dangerous. The accused escaped at around 10:30 am on Monday.
When the police withdrew, the accused thought their troubles were over. However, unexpected events occurred that night, and several accused were soon in police custody.
The accused had hired the car from an Aluva native. Police learned that this car had entered the Kochi city limits during the night after the investigation focused on the mobile number.
The mafia gang deftly evaded checks by the police at several places inside Ernakulam City. SI Tijo and his team blocked the road using the police jeep across the road after the SUV crossed the Thoppumpady Bridge.
The incident occurred at Thoppumpady Old Bridge at around 4.30 am on Tuesday. The front part of the police jeep and a Tata SUV were damaged due to the impact of the collision. Two people ran away after ramming the car into the jeep.
The accused were charged with attempting to kill a police officer, destroying public property and obstructing the police. Their arrest will be recorded later in the Chengamanad drug case.
Within a week, under the leadership of Dr Vaibhav Saxena IPS, the Ernakulam rural district police chief, and Kochi City Police Commissioner S. Shyamsunder, 305 grams of MDMA were seized. In the last day’s inspection in Perumbavoor, prohibited tobacco products and narcotic drugs worth lakhs were seized.
Is the narcotic drug menace spiralling out of control under the current regime? It is alleged that drug money finances separatism, extremism and Maoism. Most mafia members belong to a particular community. Unless the sources and the drug cartels are eradicated, the hazards will continue.
