Kozhikode: Kerala Police have intensified their investigation into an MDMA distribution racket linked to two female teachers in Vadakara, focusing on unearthing a broader narcotics network and identifying other accomplices.
The probe team will seek custody of the accused, K.C. Keerthana of Maruthonkara and Kavya of Koorachundu, and plans to question them together in hopes of revealing suppliers, delivery agents and financial backers.
Authorities are probing whether additional teachers were involved and are tracing alleged transactions routed through the two. The case emerged during ‘Operation Toofan’, an anti-drug drive led by the Deputy Superintendent of Police, and has shocked Kerala’s education sector.
Investigators say the two teachers acted as intermediaries in a sophisticated MDMA distribution system. Customers allegedly paid via QR codes; after payment, the accused sent GPS coordinates of concealed drug packets for network members to collect. Police suspect large sums credited to Keerthana’s account were funnelled through Kavya’s to avoid detection.
The inquiry gained momentum after Vadakara police arrested Safwan and Rizwan with two grams of MDMA; forensic examination of their bank records reportedly showed significant payments to the accounts of Keerthana and Kavya. Keerthana’s arrest and interrogation are said to have exposed Kavya’s involvement.
Disciplinary action is underway: Keerthana, a specialist physical education teacher at the Perambra Block Resource Centre under Samagra Shiksha Kerala, was dismissed on Sunday, and temporary teacher Kavya faces imminent removal by the General Education Department.
Police say custodial interrogation is expected to identify financiers, delivery agents and other network members as the probe expands into what is suspected to be a well-organised drug distribution racket operating under the cover of legitimate employment.
(Inputs from IANS)