Wayanad: Amid growing incidents of drug abuse and seizures, the Wayanad police have initiated attaching assets of the accused in NDPS cases.

District Superintendent of Police Taposh Basumatari said in a press note that the confiscation procedures are on in a case in which two Kozhikode natives were arrested with 1.198 kilograms of MDMA, at Muthanga, on August 6, 2024. The Smugglers and Foreign Exchange Manipulators Authority (SAFEMA), the agency based in Chennai, recently issued an order giving the green signal for the police to confiscate the four-wheeler owned by Shamnad (44), the first accused in the case. Another application of the Wayanad police to confiscate the car and bike of A S Ashkar (28), a native of Engapuzha near Thamarassery, Kozhikode district, is also being processed at the SAFEMA headquarters, the press release said. The hearing before issuing the order would be held on April 1, the police said.

 The duo had purchased the MDMA from Bengaluru and tried to smuggle it in, keeping it hidden in the speaker box of the driver's cabin in a truck. Going by the data of the Narcotics Wing of Wayanad police the attachment procedures are on in five cases against six accused and their immediate relatives. DySP Narcotics Bharathan MK told Onmanorama that in one case the final order has been issued whereas the hearing of a case is due in Chennai. In one case the process has been stayed and all other three cases are in the processing stage, he added.

In 2024, the police issued attachment orders on the assets of the relatives of the accused KP Muhammed Jihas, 28 and Abdul Salam, 29, in the seizure of 51.64 gms MDMA at Valliyoorkkavu near Mananthavadi. Police also arrested T Fasil, 28, who supplied MDMA to the duo for retail sale. The investigation team also issued orders to seize the bike and attach the properties of Fasil’s family members. Fasil was also wanted in another MDMA case charged at Tirunelveli police station way back in 2023.