Notwithstanding the strides it made in the initial stages, the probe into the operation of Brazilian drug cartel that traffics cocaine through Kochi finally appears to be heading towards a dead end.
The cartel’s operation in Kochi came to light with three back-to-back arrests of its carriers at the international airport here. In November last year, the Narcotic Control Bureau (NCB) had arrested a Paraguayan national with 3.6 kg of cocaine, and in December, they picked up a Venezuelan national with over a kilogram of the contraband in his tummy.
The last among the seizures was reported in January this year when the agency arrested Jonna De Torres, a Filipino woman, for smuggling 4.5 kg of cocaine.
Initial investigations revealed that the woman was hired by the racket for $4,000, and that she had acted as a drug carrier several times in the past. Similarly, the investigators also successfully identified one Ben Korachi, who had handled the Filipino woman, through a detailed forensic examination of her mobile phone and call records. A follow-up investigation to establish his identity or trace other members of the racket, however, has met with little success.
“Had the woman been picked up after receiving a direction of her onward movement from Kochi, the probe could have moved a lot further. But then, we were racing against time and had to complete a whole procedure in 24 hours before commencing a follow-up investigation. The probe has hit a roadblock,” explained a senior NCB officer.
Similarly, the department was also not able to confirm the exact location where the nose candy had been destined to. “In the previous two cases, the consignment was destined to Goa and New Delhi. Even in this case, it should have been going out because Kochi could never handle such a huge volume single-handedly,” the official added, while rubbishing reports that the drug was for the Malayalam film industry.
Besides the dedicated cartels, officials have pointed to huge influx of high-quality synthetic dopes through couriers for individual consumption. “These are purchases mostly from Europe, and the transactions are carried out online. The clientèle base of this network comprises mostly youth including teenage students,” officials said.
Published - January 25, 2018 12:32 am IST
