Drug in jeans: Man surrenders

KOZHIKODE: The second accused in the brown sugar seizure case reported at Naduvannur on April 13, surrendered before Vadakara Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Sessions court, on Monday.
The accused Shafeeq of Vanchiprayil house, Kothamangalam had been absconding following the seizure of brown sugar, which was intended to be smuggled to the Gulf.
Excise circle inspector M P Raveendran has moved the court seeking the custody of the surrendered accused.
The court will consider the plea of the excise department on Tuesday.
The excise department had arrested O Rasiq, a native of Kalikavu in Malappuram, on April 14 for attempting to smuggle brown sugar packets.
According to excise officials, Shafeeq was the person who handed over the jeans filled with brown sugar to Rijish, who was leaving for Kuwait on April 16. He left the dress behind as he could not accommodate them in the luggage. The involvement of drug mafia came to light as Rijesh turned suspicious of the behavior of the person who reached the airport to collect the jeans.
Family members of Rijesh later checked the packet and found brown sugar hidden in it.
Rasiq was detained by the locals when he reached Naduvannur to collect the jeans as directed by Shafeeq.
"As we had issued look out notice against the accused, we had been receiving information on the presence of the accused at different locations. We also received a tip off that the person would surrender before the court on Monday. Following this information, we moved the court on Monday morning seeking the custody of the person," said Excise Assistant Commissioner P K Suresh. "We are expecting to get more information on other persons involved in the drug deal after interrogating Shafeeq," said the official.