The camp has over 100 people from various countries like Sri Lanka, Bulgaria, South Korea, Russia, the United Kingdom, Bangladesh, and Kenya.
Published Aug 19, 2022 | 7:27 PM ⚊ Updated Aug 19, 2022 | 7:28 PM
The special camp of the Trichy Central Prison. (Supplied)
In an early morning swoop on Friday, 19 August, as many as 150 Tamil Nadu Police officials descended on the special camp in the Trichy Central Prison that houses foreign nationals, mostly Sri Lankan Tamils.
The raid began at 6 am under the supervision of the Deputy Commissioner of Police, North, South and Headquarters.
Deputy Collector Jamuna Rani, who is in charge of the special camp, told South First that the police questioned 12 foreign nationals at the camp and seized more than 50 mobile phones from them.
“The police did not inform us about the raid, and only this morning did the collector ask me to go to the camp as the raid was on. The police didn’t allow us inside, and the raid was underway for more than five hours,” she said.
District Revenue officials maintain the special camp.
The inmates of the special camp are those arrested under the IPC and the Foreigners Act of 1946. The government detains them in the camp until their trial is completed.
The inmates are allowed to keep their phones in the special camp for foreigners.
Trichy District Collector Pradeep Kumar told South First that the raid was a “usual check” and didn’t have any connection to the raids conducted by the National Investigative Agency (NIA) in July.
“The police seized 50 mobile phones and two knives used for kitchen purposes from the inmates. We have recorded the seizures and sent the report to the government,” he said.
The collector said the camp has over 100 people from Sri Lanka, Bulgaria, South Korea, Russia, the United Kingdom, Bangladesh, and Kenya.
The NIA, on 20 July, conducted a search operation at the special camp and questioned around 20 Sri Lankan refugees there.
The collector told South First that the search by the NIA officers from Kochi was connected to the seizure of 300 kg of heroin, five AK-47 rifles, and 1,000 live rounds of 9mm ammunition off the coast of Vizhinjam, near Thiruvananthapuram, in March 2021.
Suresh Rajan, a Sri Lankan national, was arrested in Kerala earlier this year in connection with the case. He allegedly has links to a Pakistan-based drug runner named Haji Salim, who often shuttled between Dubai, Pakistan, and Iran.
During the probe, the NIA said it had unearthed financial transactions worth crores of rupees in Rajan’s name.
