CHENNAI: The prison department introduced the video call facility for the inmates to "maintain meaningful connections with family members".

However, a 70-year-old inmate, N Kasilingam who is already in prison in a meth seizure case, used the facility to coordinate with his wife and orchestrate international smuggling of Methamphetamine to Sri Lanka by boat.

Narcotics Control Bureau's Chennai zonal unit busted the network and arrested six including Kasilingam's wife Krishnakumari and three Sri Lankan nationals and seized 1.47 kg of meth and Rs 1.5 crore cash and US dollars from the accused two weeks ago.

Kasilingam and his wife Krishnakumari are Sri Lankan Tamils settled in Chennai. NCB sources said Kasilingam had already sent a 1 kg consignment of meth to Sri Lanka by pulling strings from prison. NCB officials had first arrested two Lankan nationals including a juvenile on June 11 when they attempted to smuggle meth to Lanka by boat. Subsequent investigations led to the arrest of another Lankan at Mandapam refugee camp, Ramanathapuram and Krishna Kumari and another city resident, Mohammed Rizaludeen.

"From prison, Kasilingam coordinates with his wife and sets a pickup point for the meth consignment near a shopping mall in Red Hills. From there the consignment is transported by road to the Mandapam refugee camp and then taken to Lanka by boat. Krishnakumari would get the money through a hawala agent," said an NCB official.

Kasilingam was formally arrested by the NCB on June 25, a double whammy as he is already in prison in a similar case registered by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) in December 2021 and he has been in prison since.

According to sources, Kasilingam along with another man, M Nanda Kumar (40) of Kolathur were arrested by the DRI sleuths who intercepted their car near the Paranur toll plaza in Chengalpattu on December 23, 2021, based on a tip-off about meth being transported from Chennai to Rameshwaram. DRI seized 1 kg of meth concealed in the airbag area of the SUV in which the duo was travelling.

Further, DRI conducted searches at the house of Nandakumar's aunt in Ponniammanmedu and another 1 kg of the synthetic drug was seized from the house. The accused had concealed the drug inside the 'Guanyin wang' refined Chinese tea pack.