Kochi : Drug dealers in the district are abandoning digital transactions in favour of cash deals after a police crackdown on cartels using the money transaction trail.
Excise sleuths on Thursday night arrested a major supplier of methamphetamine in the city, Shifas AS (28) alias Bappuji, from Mattancherry and seized 305 grams of the drug from him. Besides the narcotics, Rs 2.9 lakh was seized from him in cash. Seizing Rs 2.9 lakh in cash from Shifas is evidence for our assessment that drug traders have now begun insisting on cash payments to avoid detection,” said Satheesh.
A prima facie investigation has revealed that Shifas was a wholesale dealer active in Fort Kochi and Mattancherry, said Satheesh. Wholesale suppliers have also begun handing over drugs on credit to low-level dealers in the aftermath of many major suppliers being arrested as part of Operation Toofan and Operation Thunder, campaigns launched by the police and excise, he added.
The seized cash was money made through drug transactions in less than a week, according to the excise. “Our information is that smuggling synthetic drugs from cities like Bangalore has become more expensive and rackets have shifted their source to Delhi and border districts of Rajasthan,” said Satheesh. With regular carriers being arrested, excise said the cartels are now targeting women college students in the city to peddle drugs by making lucrative offers. “There were instances where people were offered free trips to Thailand to sneak drugs in their baggage when they return,” said Satheesh.
“Drug rackets are resorting to all-cash deals as excise and police arrested many of their members by tracing digital payment trails. The drug is learned to have been smuggled in from Delhi.