Forensic report confirms presence of cocaine residue in NDPS case
The Kochi City police probing a Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act case involving Omprakash, against whom several cases have been booked, have confirmed that the residue recovered from a zip cover found in his room in a hotel at Kundannoor last month was cocaine.
A forensic report confirmed the suspicion. But the latest finding was unlikely to be of any significance as the police could not move for the cancellation of the bail of the accused, including Omprakash, based on it. For, the seized residue was too miniscule to be booked for non-bailable charges. The gravity of the offences under the NDPS Act is based on the quantity seized, according to sources.
Apart from Omprakash, the police had also arrested Shihas, 55, of Kottarakkara in Kollam, who was arraigned as the first accused, on October 6. This was followed by the arrest of one Binu Joseph of Elamakkara after his presence was detected by the police in the same hotel. All three managed to secure bail.
The incident hogged much media attention after the remand report submitted by the police claimed that actors Sreenath Bhasi and Prayaga Martin were among the 20 persons who had visited the accused in their rooms. Subsequently, the two were summoned by the police and interrogated extensively.
The police had seized the zip cover that contained residues of a white powder, now confirmed as cocaine, and four litres of foreign liquor from the room of Shihas.
The accused had booked three rooms in the hotel. However, the rooms were found to be booked by one Bobby Chalapathy, said the remand report.
The remand report said that the arrests were made based on intelligence reports that the accused were into smuggling in cocaine from abroad and selling it in Ernakulam and other districts for DJ parties. Though they had been in Kochi multiple times before, they managed to evade the police, and Omprakash used to book hotel rooms in the name of others, the remand report said.
Published – November 13, 2024 01:08 am IST
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