Cops-couriers alliance to curb parcel drug trade

Kochi: Ernakulam district police have joined forces with courier operators to tackle rising drug smuggling through parcels, which often evades police and excise detection.

According to intelligence reports, smugglers are exploiting delivery loopholes by shipping narcotics from other cities and even foreign countries. The parcels arrive with vague addresses, ordered via the darknet and paid for using cryptocurrency.

Investigations of those arrested under the NDPS Act revealed that drugs were procured from European nations like Germany and France, as well as Mexico and Shillong. However, sender trails typically lead to deadends. Police officers said that while confidential tips about possible smuggling attempts via parcels can be helpful, such alerts are very rare.

Last week, district police chief (Ernakulam Rural) Vaibhav Saxena met with over 100 courier service representatives as part of the decision to collaborate with them to address this issue.

"I convened a meeting with courier agents based on our understanding that courier services have become one of the biggest sources of drug supply. We gave two specific instructions: Watch out for generalized delivery addresses—such as parcels addressed to 'near Aluva railway station.' Such items should be reported to us. We can deploy sniffer dogs in case of suspicion. Second, we suggested the use of X-ray scanners as far as possible," said Saxena.

The meeting also aimed to establish communication channels between courier agents and local police.

"Instead of traveling to cities like Delhi or Bangalore, smugglers get drugs delivered to vague addresses. When delivery persons call the number provided since the location is too general, a racket agent collects it," explained an officer.

Police are monitoring food and e-commerce delivery services to check if contraband is later distributed through these channels. They also plan periodic inspections of courier warehouses using narcotic-detecting dogs.

Shiny, an Aluva-based courier agent who attended the meeting, said they've been asked to stay vigilant. "We usually take products with GST bills since they're itemized. However, we have limits to knowing what's inside packages due to lack of scanning equipment," she said.