Daijiworld Media Network – Kasargod
Kasargod, May 30: Two truck drivers who were wrongly jailed for allegedly transporting MDMA have finally been released as innocent after spending 151 days behind bars.
The drivers — Biju Mathew (49) of Malakkallu in Kallar gram panchayat, Kasargod, and Manikanthan (46) of Valam in Kannur — were released from Kozhikode prison after forensic tests revealed that the substance seized by police was not a narcotic but crystal sugar.
On November 25, 2024, Biju and Manikanthan had travelled from Kanhangad Railway Station to Kozhikode by Malabar Express. During the journey, Manikanthan had purchased some crystal sugar for his children. That night, they stayed at a lodge in Nadakkavu, Kozhikode, where they consumed some of the crystal sugar along with their dinner.
The next morning, on November 26, around 10 am, while they were walking on the street to get breakfast, officials from the district anti-narcotics special operations team stopped them in a jeep, suspecting the crystal sugar to be MDMA. The police arrested both men on the mistaken assumption that they were in possession of the banned substance.
A case was filed against the duo and they were produced before the special court on November 27. The court remanded them to 14 days of judicial custody, after which they were sent to jail.
Since the accused could not afford legal representation, the court appointed an advocate for them. After five months, the forensic lab report finally confirmed that the seized substance was not a drug but merely sugar, and the result came out negative for narcotics.
Following this development, both were released from jail on May 13, 2025.