KOCHI: The excise team probing the seizure of MDMA worth Rs 14 crore from an apartment at Vazhakkala on Thursday will seek custody of the five accused persons, who are currently under judicial custody. The accused persons, Sreemon, Mohammad Favas and Shamna of Kozhikode, Aju alias Amal of Kasaragod and Mohammad Afsal of Ernakulam, were remanded by the court and a custody application will be filed on Tuesday.
Excise sources said that the recent cases of seizing MDMA in Ernakulam is a sign of an increase in the interstate peddling of drugs.
The officials believe that more details about the interstate drug peddling network can be collected by interrogating the accused persons.
“We suspect that they have been part of the network for long and have smuggled in contraband earlier too. We are trying to collect the details of their associates and customers. It is essential to get them in custody,” said a senior excise official.
The racket was busted during a joint raid held by the customs and excise departments on Thursday when around 90gm of synthetic drug MDMA worth Rs 1 crore was seized from the rented apartment. However, later in another raid, the excise team recovered around 1.085kg more MDMA from the same apartment on Thursday night. The seized MDMA has a market value of more than Rs 13 crore.
