By The Hindu Bureau
Copyright thehindu
Local administrators joining hands with the police have resumed joint inspections of private accommodations housing migrant workers in Kozhikode district following confidential complaints of substance abuse and drug trafficking. The move is part of a wider crackdown on drug trafficking networks reportedly operating within the migrant labourers’ community.
According to official sources, multiple flash inspections are being carried out mainly in rural areas with large concentration of migrant workers. The action followed confidential complaints submitted by local residents’ forums and community clubs to various grama panchayats, raising concerns about the safety of women and children, they said.
Police sources confirmed that a few migrant workers were suspected of acting as drug carriers, allegedly using connections in their home States to traffic substances such as ganja and MDMA. “These trafficked substances are then distributed among fellow workers and, in some cases, sold to local buyers. We also suspect coordination with drug traffickers’ networks in neighbouring States,” they said.
“The ongoing operation is part of a broader initiative to verify the identity and background of all migrant workers entering the district,” said a sub-inspector of police from Thiruvambady.
“Based on inputs from the civic communities, enforcement squads are mainly focussing on accommodations suspected of being used as storage points for smuggled narcotics. Raids are being carried out without prior notice to prevent destruction or removal of evidence,” said a police officer who was recently part of a raid in the upland areas of Kozhikode. He added that the operation was not aimed at migrant workers indiscriminately but rather at identifying and isolating those who misused their “labourer identity” as a cover to engage in the illegal business.
Adarsh Joseph, president of Koodranahi grama panchayat, said 15 buildings were covered in the last two days’ flash inspections in the panchayat. “We will be covering 20 more buildings in the coming days as the squads have recovered huge quantities of trafficked drugs. The inspections will continue,” he added.
