Kochi, July 25 (IANS): Shiju Thomas, who was held in a Abu Dhabi prison after drugs were found in his baggage, said he never thought he "would walk out free" after being released Thursday.
Thomas, 29, who hails from here, is ecstatic after he walked out of the prison and he thought he was dreaming.
"Believe me I never ever thought I would walk out free," Thomas told IANS over phone from Abu Dhabi.
He said it was around 4.30 p.m. that he walked free from the jail in Abu Dhabi.
"Glory to God and to all those who prayed for me and also special thanks to (External Affairs Minister) Sushma Swaraj and (Kerala Chief Minister) Oommen Chandy, who made this all possible for me," said Thomas whose voice was feeble.
He at times stuttered since he is yet to come to terms with what has happened.
Thomas had come on an emergency leave here last month following the death of his father.
And after conducting the last rites of his father when he was about to leave from his home for Abu Dhabi, his friend said that someone known to him will deliver a packet to be taken to Abu Dhabi.
Thomas' brother Josh Sebastian told IANS: "Thomas did not have any doubt because it was his friend who called. But after landing in Abu Dhabi, my brother was picked up by the Customs department there as the packet contained drugs. We were shocked to hear about it."
"Soon we informed the police here who traced the person who handed the packet and the police arrested him and three others. Now all of them are in jail here and we have come to know that they are people who deal in drugs," he said.
Following the arrests, Thomas' family approached Chandy who took up the case with Sushma Swaraj.
"All the details of the arrest made here and supporting documents to this effect were handed over to Swaraj, who in turn took up the case with the Indian embassy, and my brother is now free. The release took place after Chandy met Swaraj in Delhi yesterday (Thursday)," said Sebastian.
Thomas said he has thanked Chandy "for the efforts he took with all earnestness to help me. I will never forget anything what has happened to me and the help I received".
Thomas, an aluminium fabricator, reached Abu Dhabi last year in December and now after his release, is waiting to return home.
"I am told that I have to wait for sometime before I get my passport. I wish to go back to my place, but it can happen only after I get back my passport," said Thomas.
Tricked into carrying LSD ‘book parcel’, he lands in Abu Dhabi jail
(July 3, 2014)
Last month Shiju Thomas, who had come home to attend his father’s funeral, got a call from a friend of his colleague in Abu Dhabi, requesting him for a favour. He wanted Thomas to carry a parcel of books for his cousin in Abu Dhabi. Thomas agreed but made the mistake of not checking the parcel when it arrived — just an hour before he was about to catch his flight.
The 29-year-old fabrication worker was arrested at the Abu Dhabi airport on June 18 on charges of being a drug carrier. The Customs had detected nine small stamps of psychedelic drug lysergic acid diethylamide — or LSD — concealed in the book packet he was carrying.
Last week, acting on a complaint of Thomas’s family members, Kerala police arrested three persons — BBA student Amal and engineering graduates Muhammed Saad and Thoppil Ansar on charges of cheating and under various sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act. All three are from suburbs of Kochi.
Police said Amal wanted to send the drug to his cousin Sarang, who was employed in a private firm in Abu Dhabi. Amal approached Saad, who was into substance abuse for the drugs. Saad in turn sought the LSD from Ansar, son of a district Congress district leader, Thoppil Abu, at Aluva near Kochi.
Investigating Officer B Harikumar said, “Ansar, who worked with a private firm in the Gulf, had collected the LSD stamps from Goa. Bindi-sized LSD is priced at Rs 1,500 in Kerala. We suspect the drug had been in his possession for the past several months and he had been dealing in it. To take the drug to Sarang, Amal and the other two were looking for someone returning to the Gulf. They randomly zeroed-in on Thomas as the carrier.”
According to Thomas’s brother-in-law Jose Jilson, the packet reached Thomas an hour before he was to leave home for the airport. “As he was in a hurry to leave, we did not have the time to open the packet. Neither Thomas nor anyone us had seen Amal before that,” Jilson said.
He said Thomas’s colleague in Abu Dhabi, Rinoy, was a schoolmate of Amal. “Months ago, Amal called Rinoy, asking for his company address, saying he wanted to send a parcel to Sarang. But Rinoy told him that his company does not allow accepting such parcels. Amal had approached Rinoy since Sarang’s firm was also against entertaining such parcels,” said Jilson.
Last month, Amal called Rinoy again. At that time, Thomas was on leave in Kerala to attend his father’s funeral. Rinoy happened to tell Amal that his colleague was in Kerala and the parcel could be handed over to him.
Jilson said Amal made the call a few days before Thomas was to leave for Abu Dhabi. “Thomas gave Amal his address so that he could bring home the parcel.”
Thomas’s family members said they had no official information on his whereabouts. After being caught by the Customs, Thomas had called Rinoy, who was waiting outside the airport to receive him. Thomas reportedly told Rinoy that he had been cheated.
Jilson said Rinoy returned to Kerala after the incident. His return helped Thomas’s family to track down Amal. The family then filed a police complaint, leading to the arrest of the three.
Ansar father and Congress leader Thoppil Abu said he was not aware of son’s dealings. “He was in Goa few months ago. He might have collected the drug from there. I have not interfered in the police probe,” he said. Thomas’s family, meanwhile, is looking for ways to bring back their son home.