Excise seizes 305 grams of suspected MDMA, arrests one in Mattancherry

The Excise department's Ernakulam wing has arrested a 28-year-old man from a rented apartment in Mattancherry and seized 305.396 grams of suspected MDMA from him, the agency said on Friday.

The accused has been identified as Shifas A.S., also known as Bappu, a resident of Panayappilly in Mattancherry who works at a wholesale shop in the city. Along with the drug, officials seized ₹2,90,000, allegedly earned through drug sales, and a mobile phone.

The arrest followed information gathered by the Excise Intelligence and Investigation Bureau. According to the department, the accused had been under its radar for several weeks. Investigators suspect he was involved in selling synthetic drugs to IT professionals and college students in different parts of Ernakulam district.

Speaking to the media, Excise Deputy Commissioner P.K. Satheesh said Shifas was suspected to be a wholesale drug dealer in Fort Kochi, and that the contraband is believed to have been procured from Delhi. The officer said the accused had not been booked in any other case.

Satheesh also pointed to a shift in the way peddlers operate, noting that they increasingly accept payments only in cash to avoid leaving digital evidence. He said traffickers had been luring female college students with offers of free trips to Thailand and then using them as drug carriers.

The operation was led by Kochi Excise Circle Inspector Prasanth R.

This is the second major synthetic drug seizure by the Excise in Ernakulam in recent weeks. In August, the agency arrested four youths and seized 281 grams of suspected MDMA in two related cases. A special investigation team is probing that case.