Madurai: When a boss asks for the status of a file once, it is routine. Twice, it may be urgent. But when he keeps asking repeatedly, calls after office hours and seeks update after update, questions arise. Five years ago, that pattern of requests from a Chennai office ultimately helped the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) crack one of the country's biggest cocaine seizures worth ₹2,000 crore. It has now landed a logistics executive in prison for 10 years.
DRI arrested Leo Rosario Joseph, 49, branch manager of Expo Freight in Chennai, in 2021 for his role in the attempted import of 303 kg of cocaine through the Tuticorin port. A Madurai court on June 4 convicted Joseph for helping smuggle the cocaine consignment in April 2021. The drug case centered around a container aboard the German vessel, Cotopaxi, carrying teak logs.
Investigators said Leo was acting on instructions from Rashid of Mannady, Chennai, who is absconding and whose case was split up.
Court records show Leo Rosario Joseph repeatedly sought updates on the said container from Satheesh Kumar, a customer service employee at Expo Freight. After seeking details on April 19, 2021, Leo again called the next day, obtained an update at 11 am, and sought another status report through WhatsApp after Satheesh had gone home.
The repeated tracking became a crucial lead after DRI received information from foreign counterparts that a container bound for Tuticorin was being monitored from India. Investigators obtained tracking logs from Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), which handled the container. The firm shared records showing 30 IP addresses accessed the tracking system, including 15 from India.
Analysis of Internet Protocol Detail Records (IPDR) led investigators to a static Vodafone IP address. Records linked the IP to Chennai-based Expo Freight. Investigators then matched the other Airtel IP to Satheesh Kumar's mobile number. Attendance records established that Satheesh was at work when the tracking activity took place.
When questioned by investigators, Satheesh said he tracked the container from both the office computer and his mobile phone on branch manager Leo's instructions. He also produced WhatsApp exchanges showing status updates sent to Leo. Confronted with the evidence, Leo admitted that absconding accused Rashid had given him the container number and told him it carried cocaine.
Acting on intelligence, DRI intercepted the container at Tuticorin's Dakshin Bharat Gateway Terminal. Hidden between teakwood layers were nine travel bags containing 302 brick-shaped packets. Field tests and laboratory analysis confirmed 303.4 kg of cocaine, leading to Leo's conviction and 10-year prison sentence.
