Rave party racket: Revellers go hi-tech to network, hoodwink police

Even as the Coimbatore district police, in Tamil Nadu, continue to dig deeper into the details of the rave party busted in the city on Saturday, preliminary investigative details shed light on the meticulous planning and networking.

At least 163 people, comprising 140 Keralites, including a Russian national were arrested for allegedly conducting a rave party in the outskirts of Pollachi in Coimbatore district. Police seized drugs including Ganja, cocaine and hashish oil from the resort. Though Ganja and the other drugs are accessible and can be transported from neighbouring states, police said that it is the first time that about 13.5 grams of MDMA ecstasy tablets have been seized in Coimbatore.  It is also the first time that a rave party has been busted in the industrial city. A senior police officer, who did not want to be named, said that a special team found something amiss in the Agri Nest Farm resort located at Sethumadai in Pollachi. Only after watching the movement at the resort for hours, did they realise they were taking drugs. “Drugs were being consumed on a larger scale than we expected,” a senior police official said.

The Modus Operandi

Of the 163 people held, most of them did not know each other personally and had met for the first time only at the party. It all began with a group of 14 people who first met in Goa and held a rave party there two years back, police said. The group then planned to organise such parties across the country and have been hosting them at regular intervals across the country.

They have been networked in a highly secretive manner on Instagram. They choose invitees based on the venue of the party. “The words used in the event invitation card are code words and jumbled hints, which, even if shared or put in public domain, not many will understand,” police said.

The event card said it’s a private gathering, which had four live performances apart from two DJs. “The drugs were consumed during the music party, the effect of which included expansion of the nervous system, inducing a high,” police added.

Explaining the choice of place, an official privy to the case said that they looked for a place far from any of the residential areas. “That’s why they chose the farm house. In Kerala, they have been hosting such parties at small islands in Cochin,” added the official.

Police have sent the seized drugs to the laboratory for further examination. Police suspect that the drugs might have been transported from Goa by the Russian national Illy Zorin (30) of Astrakhan. According to the police, he was the key performer in the party. “In Goa, there is a village for Russians and the police will be going there soon to establish the links,” said a source.