Tanzanian national arrested for supplying MDMA in Kerala

THRISSUR: A Tanzanian national has been arrested in connection with a major MDMA smuggling racket, following ongoing investigations into a drug seizure case from last year. Abdul Hamad Mkhame was apprehended by the Kunnamkulam Police from Bengaluru airport, with authorities identifying him as a key figure in an international drug trafficking syndicate.

The arrest stems from a case registered in August last year, when police nabbed two individuals from Chowannur in possession of 67 grams of MDMA and two kilograms of hashish oil. Subsequent investigations led to the arrest of four more individuals, including Pookode natives Nitheesh and Mohammed Ansil.

Information obtained during their interrogation pointed to Abdul Hamad as the primary supplier of the seized MDMA. Acting on this lead, a team led by Kunnamkulam Circle Inspector UK Shajahan tracked and detained him in Bengaluru. According to the police, he is a key link in an international drug trafficking network that supplies large quantities of narcotics to cities, including Bengaluru.

Just a day earlier, a Nigerian national was arrested in an unrelated online fraud case in which Rs 1.90 crore was swindled from a Thrissur native. The Thrissur City Crime Branch arrested Austin Ogba for his involvement. The fraud was carried out by establishing a relationship with the victim through Facebook and making a series of false promises.

The incident dates back to March 1, when the victim became acquainted with a woman on Facebook, who was part of the fraud ring. The accused claimed that she had fled to Turkey due to the war in Syria and that two boxes containing US dollars and other valuables were in the custody of a company named Middle East Vault in Egypt. She convinced the victim to send money for authorization to retrieve the boxes. Believing her, the victim transferred a total of Rs 1.90 crore between March and June 2023 over several transactions.