Curious case of Kanjipani

Recent escape of drug kingpin Mohamed Najim Mohamed Imran, alias ‘Kanjipani Imran’ to India once again brought home the imperative need for boosting the intelligence services. Last week Cabinet Spokesman Bandula Gunawardena, too, expressed concerns over the issue. He acknowledged that the competence of Sri Lanka’s Intelligence Agencies have been questioned often.

When the attempted murder case against Kanjipani Imran was scheduled for hearing on 4 January,  Keselwatte Police informed the Colombo Chief Magistrate that the accused was reportedly abroad, jumping bail. The Magistrate served notice on three sureties for failing to appear in court with underworld kingpin Kanjipani Imran.

According to information available, Kanjipani ran his drug and extortion rackets from abroad and made millions of rupees until he was arrested and deported to Sri Lanka. Hence, the general impression is he will be able to forfeit two sureties of Rs 10 million without any problem. The issue arises if the punishing of bail guarantors does not bring Kanjipani back to Sri Lanka to stand trial.

While the reason for granting bail and judiciary matters cannot be discussed in detail, the pubic questions as to the reasons why he was not trailed by the intelligence to prevent his escape. In most countries the criminals released on bail are given a detection bracelet to wear for the Police to keep track on their whereabouts and they cannot escape.

Without such sophisticated technology, our intelligence could at least keep a tab on released criminals, especially the suspects who can spend millions of ill-gained money to grease his escape routes.

Apparently, the escape of Kanjipani had taken Police unawares until the information came from Indian intelligence. It is an intelligence failure similar to the intelligence revelations made by Indian security authorities on the Easter Sunday bomb attacks three years ago.

Indian media, quoting Tamil Nadu intelligence sources, reported that an alert had been issued warning that drug lord ‘Kanjipani Imran’ had entered Rameswaram, and instructed senior Police officers across Tamil Nadu to mount vigil along the coastal districts. Kanjipani Imran, had sneaked into Rameswaram on 25 December, days after his release, on bail, by Magisterial Court in Sri Lanka, Police sources said.

Kanjipani, wanted by the Sri Lankan authorities for various offences, including murders and criminal intimidation, was arrested in Dubai in 2019 and deported to Colombo. He was in judicial custody till the Court granted him bail on payment of two sureties, each in Rs 5 million. But neither the suspect nor the sureties had shown up for the hearing in Court and now arrest warrants have been issued to apprehend them.

Kanjipani Imran had been granted bail in relation to a different case that was brought up for allegedly sending telephone death threats to two Police officers working at the Keselwatte Police Station in 2019.

Indian media earlier reported that Tamil Nadu intelligence had a specific input from Central Intelligence Agencies and reliable sources that Kanjipani was planning to enter India after his release on bail. The information was that he left the Court, disguised himself and moved to Thalaimannar from where his associates were making arrangements for his infiltration into India, the sources said.

The Hindu, quoting a senior Police officer, said, “Imran is a drug kingpin with strong connections with heroin and cocaine suppliers based out of Afghanistan and Pakistan. He is facing several cases in Sri Lanka. On information that Imran would attend a birthday function in Dubai, a special team arrested him there in 2019. His gang is actively involved in big time smuggling of drugs across maritime boundary lines.”

Though there is no formal communication from Sri Lanka on Imran escaping to India, Indian intelligence agencies received credible input on his movement and issued the alert, the officer who did not want to be quoted told media.

The entry of Imran into Tamil Nadu gains significance in the backdrop of the Indian National Investigation Agency (NIA) exposing an international drug cartel involving Sri Lankan nationals, operating from the Special Camp in Tiruchi, that houses foreign nationals facing criminal charges.

Commissioners/Superintendents of Police, particularly in the coastal districts, have been alerted to enhance surveillance at vulnerable locations and activate their intelligence machinery to trace the suspect.

Police sources told the Hindu that the NIA was also tracking the movement and activities of Imran and his associates as investigators believed that he had close links with Haji Salim of Pakistan and Gunasekaran alias Gun, the prime suspect in the Vizhinjam drugs and arms trafficking case, where coastal security agencies seized 301 kg heroin, five AK 47 rifles and 1000 9-mm ammunition from six Sri Lankan nationals, who were found on vessel ‘Ravihansi’ off Vizhinjam on March 25, 2021.

There were also intelligence reports stating that fishermen from Tamil Nadu were being used as carriers of drugs and illegal weapons. Intelligence has also given inputs on the possibility of major drug smuggling possibility on the Tamil Nadu-Sri Lanka route and the Coastal Police have stepped up an alert over the areas under their jurisdiction.

Indian media reports revealed that the Superintendent of Police of Thoothukudi has recently visited the fishermen and created awareness among them on the pitfalls of ganja or drug smuggling. The Thoothukudi fishing harbour daily does business to the tune of around Rs 1 crore and more than 250 fishing vessels are plying from the harbour. The recent seizure of ganja and other drugs, worth lakhs of rupees, was from Indian fishing vessels that are from Tamil Nadu. After the arrest of former top intelligence officer of the now defunct LTTE, Satnukam alias Sabesan, from Chennai in October 2021, on charges of smuggling drugs and arms and raising funds for rejuvenating the organisation, intelligence agencies have been on an alert in Tamil Nadu.

In these circumstances, the intelligence exchanges between India and Sri Lanka must be further strengthened with establishing hotlines for instant contacts on urgent alerts.