The Excise Enforcement and Anti-Narcotics Special Squad, Ernakulam, is reportedly in the dock for allegedly ruining a sensitive inquiry into the seizure of crystalline MDMA, a synthetic narcotic drug, from a disparate group of youngsters in Kottayam recently.
Excise Commissioner S. Anantha Krishnan has despatched Additional Excise Commissioner, Enforcement, Abdul Rashi to Kochi to record the statements of the errant officers.
The nature of the investigation or what the special squad is suspected of having done remains unknown.
Nevertheless, the department’s prima facie inference is that the Kochi squad imperilled a potentially sweeping drug investigation with inter-State and international ramifications.
The drug case has its provenance in intelligence generated jointly by the State Excise Enforcement Squad (SEES) and the Customs, Preventive.
Last July, the Customs, Chennai, had intercepted at least two air cargo parcels containing a significant amount of the banned narcotic. The importers had used fake invoices and the services of a cargo agent to ship in the drug from Spain surreptitiously. The Customs also learnt that they had shied away from receiving a recent consignment, fearing betrayal by their associates.
The SEES learnt a well-heeled youth in Kozhikode was the kingpin of the racket. It tracked his mobile phone and shadowed his vehicle for several days.
On August 18, the SEES intercepted a seven-member group travelling in a van with exotic dogs acting on a tip-off. The plainclothes squad seized 86 gm of MDMA and a deer antler from the vehicle.
It handed over the case to the Kochi unit with the information that the gang had secreted at least 2 kg of the drug in three apartments in Ernakulam.
However, for unknown reasons, the Kochi squad allowed one of the prime accused in the case to walk free. It also did not account for the seizure of the deer antler.
Moreover, the Kochi squad registered the case in a manner alleged to be advantageous to the accused. Some officers refused to endorse the mahassar report and registered their opposition in writing.
The issue became a scandal after surveillance camera images of the accused moving the MDMA out of one of the apartments went viral. The “embarrassment” prompted Excise Minister M.V. Govindan to order the internal inquiry. He said officials if found guilty, would face action.
