TN police on crackdown of drug syndicate after tip-off from central agencies

Chennai, Feb 17 (BPNS)

The Tamil Nadu police are in for a major crackdown against drug syndicates after central intelligence agencies have tipped off on the possibility of drugs being smuggled into the state through the coastline.

The central agencies have warned the Tamil Nadu police that some groups owing allegiance to former operatives of the Tamil movements were using the state as a transit point for drug smuggling. The Haji Ali network of Pakistan is using certain former operatives of the LTTE for smuggling drugs into Tamil Nadu and from there to other countries.

A highly placed source in Tamil Nadu police told BPNS,” We have got some inputs from the central agencies regarding some groups owing allegiance to the now defunct LTTE trying to  use Tamil Nadu as a transit point for the smuggling of drugs and state police have commenced a crackdown against some former drug operatives and some people involved with  Tamil nationalist movements.”

It may be noted that in October 2021, Police arrested Santukam alias Sabesan a former senior intelligence operative of the LTTE from Chennai following the seizure of a huge catch of drugs, arms, and ammunition from a mechanized boat near Rameswaram.

A huge cache of drugs was seized from passengers who have reached Chennai airport. The amphetamine drug worth Rs 3 crore was intercepted by the air intelligence of customs at the Chennai airport. An African national who had reached Chennai international airport from Guinea via a transit flight from Adidas Ababa.

Sources in the Tamil Nadu police told BPNS that the police is acting on specific inputs and the former operatives of Tamil nationalism who are spread in various places of the state are regrouping themselves and to raise funds they are resorting to smuggling of drugs.

The officer said that drugs that reach the coastal towns of Tamil Nadu are then transferred into small packets and smuggled to some European destinations through cargo. However, he did not specify the route the smugglers were using to send the contraband out of the country.