‘Pappadavada’ co-owner couriers drugs from Bengaluru using fake addresses, held

KOCHI: The police on Wednesday arrested a co-owner of the restaurant Pappadavada, which is now shut, for having supplied drugs from Bengaluru to Kochi through parcels couriered using fake addresses. Amal Nair, 38, of Panampilly Nagar, was arrested from a luxury apartment in Electronic City, Bengaluru.

The investigation, leading to Amal’s arrest, started out with a parcel with a fake address arriving at a courier agency in Cheranalloor on August 18. After the police were informed about the parcel containing 18 grams of methamphetamine, also known as meth, which is similar to MDMA, the investigation found that drugs arrived in parcels through various states in a similar manner. Despite the fake addresses, the drug-peddling gang use the tracking ID to know when the parcels arrive and collect them directly from the courier agency office.

As directed by City Police Commissioner C H Nagaraju, CCTV footage was recovered from the courier service office and the subsequent investigation led to the arrest of Ajmal, of Kayamkulam, a few days ago. On interrogation, Ajmal revealed the name of Sameer V K T, 36, of Padana, Kasaragod, who also collected the parcel from the courier service office. Sameer was in jail for one and a half years in another drugs case registered at the Ernakulam Central police station.

Later, both the arrested persons admitted that it was Amal who was sending them drugs from Bengaluru. A police team from Kochi reached Bengaluru and arrested him. Amal’s wife was earlier interrogated by the police in the case against Hotel No 18, in connection with the death of two models in a car accident in Kochi last year. The investigation revealed that Amal was procuring drugs from a Nigerian national based in Bengaluru. Attempts are being made to trace him, said an officer.