The Narcotics Control Bureau’s examination of a container being shipped to the Maldives triggered rumours of a suspected drug haul in Kochi on Tuesday. The container, reportedly being shipped from Oman via Dubai aboard an Indian cargo vessel, came under the scanner following information that drugs were being smuggled in it using food items as a decoy. Following this, the vessel carrying the container that had already left Kochi was called back. The container was reportedly offloaded from the vessel, which returned on Monday night. It has since emerged that the container had tomato ketchup packets. “It was a routine check randomly conducted at seaports and airports from time to time. We haven’t yet found any contraband in the container,” said NCB sources.
