How a 'good-natured young man' got arrested in Kasaragod's biggest MDMA seizure

Kasaragod: Kasaragod police will take steps to freeze the bank accounts and attach the movable and immovable properties of 26-year-old Askar Ali, from whose house they seized psychotropic drugs and cannabis worth Rs 1 crore in Uppala, said District Police Chief Shilpa Dyavaiah on Saturday.

On Friday, September 20, a team of officers from Melparamba and Manjeshwar police stations seized 3.409kg of MDMA crystals, a party drug, 642.65g of marijuana, 96.96g of cocaine and 30 unidentified capsules from the house of one Askar Ali (26) at Pathwadi in Uppala town. The cache was found from a trolley box in an unused room in his six-bedroom house. "The drugs are worth around Rs 1 crore... It is the biggest MDMA haul in Kasaragod," she said.

It is the second largest seizure of MDMA in the state, after the Excise Department, led by Commissioner Rishi Raj Singh, seized 5kg of MDMA near Nedumbassery in Kochi in February 2018.

The Kasaragod District Police Chief said she was setting up a special investigating team (SIT) to dig deeper into the case and find out the financial means of the accused to stock such large quantities of psychotropic drugs. "We also have to find out the source of the drugs and the people supplying the drugs to Kasaragod," said Dyavaiah.

If Askar Ali illegally acquired his wealth with proceeds of crime, it can be seized and bank accounts frozen under Section 68F of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, said Dyavaiah.

Legally, 0.5 grams of psychotropic drugs such as MDMA is considered a small quantity and consuming even 150 milligrams of MDMA can turn fatal.

But anything above 10g is considered commercial quantity, and if convicted, the accused would face rigorous imprisonment between 10 years to 20 years and a fine of Rs 1 lakh to Rs 2 lakh under the NDPS Act.

The money trail
Police reached the house of Askar Ali by following the money trail in another drug case, said an officer.

On August 30, Melparamba Police arrested Abdul Raheem alias Ravi with 49.33g of MDMA during a vehicle check at Kainoth near Kalnad in Chemnad grama panchayat. Abdul Raheem is a native of Mudigere in Karnataka's Chikmagalur district and a resident of Kalnad village in Kasaragod.

During the investigation, Melparamba Station House Officer- Inspector Santhosh Kumar A found that Raheem deposited money in Askar Ali's account. According to police sources, Askar Ali has two bank accounts -- one in his name and another in a benami account. Police reviewed the two accounts before knocking on his door on Friday. "In his account, there were transactions worth around Rs 15 lakh in the past month, and in the benami account, the transactions were in lakhs in just four days before his arrest," said an officer.

The officer said there were many links in the racket, and they did not know one another. "They communicated with each other and placed orders on internet messaging apps that do not require revealing phone numbers," he said. "There can be several Askar Ali sitting with such quantities of drugs. Only a deep-dive investigation can dig them out," the officer said.

'A good-natured man'
Residents of Pathwadi in Mangalpady panchayat's Uppala Town ward were stunned when they came to know police seized large quantities of chemical drugs from Askar Ali's house. One, because Askar, the eldest of three sons, was a "good-natured young man"; and two, because the house was shared by his mother and father, a well-off and respected couple in the community, and his little brother studying in class 4.

"Askar Ali was born rich and grew up as a good-natured young man. He does not even touch a cigarette," said his neighbour and panchayat member from Uppala Town Abdul Rahiman TM. "He was a top athlete in school and always stood first in club-level sports events," he said.

Another neighbour said Askar Ali's father worked as a helper in an embassy in Belgium. Around three years ago, he returned home after being diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, which primarily affects memory. "Askar was supposed to go to London but decided to stay back and care for his father. His younger brother then took up the job a year ago," the neighbour said.

Panchayat member Rahiman, who was in the house during the raid as a police witness, said he suspected that Askar might have lost money in a Ponzi scheme a year ago. "He and my cousins are in a WhatsApp group of a money chain business, and I know my cousins lost around Rs 10 lakh to Rs 15 lakh in it," he said. "I suspect Askar fell prey to the drug racket to get out of the financial mess," said Rahiman. "But that is not an excuse. His father could have got him out if only he told him," he said.