Rs 1,000-crore drug racket: Two Kerala masterminds arrested in Kochi

KOCHI: Two Kerala natives, identified as the masterminds behind an international smuggling ring attempting to export 120 million painkiller pills valued at approximately Rs 1,000 crore, have been arrested in Kochi, officials said.

M.G. Umesh of Thiruvananthapuram and V. Firdaus of Tirur in Malappuram were intercepted and arrested near Edappally by a joint team comprising the Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN) Gwalior headquarters, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) Kochi-Bengaluru units, and the Customs Preventive section. Authorities said the suspects were detained while attempting to flee abroad.

The arrests follow "Operation Vajra," launched by the CBN on the 10th of this month after a massive stockpile of Tramadol Hydrochloride pills was uncovered in a Delhi godown. According to investigators, the shipment was slated for export to Guinea-Bissau in Africa under the cover of a Bengaluru-based private firm.

An inquiry by the International Narcotics Control Board revealed that the stated destination address in Bissau was fake, and the consignment was actually intended to be smuggled into Libya for illicit distribution as a narcotic substance.

A third suspect, Gudipati Subramanyam, who serves as the director of the Bengaluru firm, was previously arrested in Bengaluru. Information extracted from Subramanyam enabled enforcement agencies to track down Umesh and Firdaus in Kochi on the 20th.

The seized consignment consists of 12 crore Tramadol Hydrochloride tablets, each weighing 250 milligrams, amounting to a total weight of 30,000 kilograms. CBN officials stated that formal charges under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, will be filed against the accused. While Tramadol functions as a standard pharmaceutical painkiller, it produces severe intoxication when consumed in excessive quantities.