Long read: A Delhi doctor is the ‘Tihar specialist’. Extracts phones, drugs & blades from inmates’ bodies

Those Indians who gorge on the diet of gritty serials dished out by the OTT channels will be familiar with the smuggling of phones and drugs through the bodies of human mules. For the rest of us, this is a grimly fascinating world where crime meets desperate poverty and then – at least in this graphic piece in The Print – encounters a committed medical professional. Dr Ashok Dalal is the star of Soumya Pillai’s riveting article because: “Dr Dalal, 43, has a nickname among his colleagues: the Tihar specialist. He and his team have become the go-to experts for extracting illicit goods from the Tihar inmates’ bodies. What comes out no longer surprises them—mostly mobile phones, chargers, drug packets, knives, and blades, all valuable inside prison cells.”

And here’s why Ms Pillai has focused on Tihar rather than some other run-of-the-mill prison: “No other hospital deals with body-packing cases on such a large scale. While smugglers caught body-packing from airports and other places are sent to AIIMS, Safdarjung Hospital, and other medical institutions, GB Pant handles all the Tihar Jail cases. Since 2017, they’ve removed over 150 items lodged inside the bodies of more than 25 prisoners.

Their work is not just a lesson on how desperate and creative prisoners can get for contraband. It’s about health risks and serious challenges for prison security. There’s been an uptick in cases of late, but prison officials say that’s because of better detection protocols, including more checks and a stronger internal network of informants.

“We get such cases every two to three months. I can do this in my sleep now,” said Dr Dalal, briskly walking out after fishing out three mobile phones through an endoscopic procedure.

Dalal has gained such proficiency that it now takes him only 10 minutes to investigate and recover objects endoscopically.”

So, why do the Tihar inmates put their bodies on the line by taking what would appear to you & me to be suicidal risks? Ms Pillai’s article points to a variety of reasons, not least the fact that from a risk-reward perspective this appears to be an attractive trade for a Tihar inmate.

First, let’s focus on the rewards: “Tihar officials and doctors say that the nexus of body packers in prisons has increased over the last few years. These contraband mules, mostly men, are paid hefty amounts to act as “human couriers.” Many get arrested on purpose just to deliver valuable items inside the prison. Those that end up in emergency rooms represent just a fraction of the actual scale of such operations. Only the unlucky few who can’t naturally release their goods require medical attention. In some cases, packets remain lodged inside their bodies for years….

Phones are a prized commodity at Tihar. Many gangsters use them to run operations from behind bars and the devices are exchanged at high commission rates. Drugs are in high demand too and sold for a premium. Dealers have a trusted market inside, sending their agents inside to distribute their goods. The smuggling of weapons is a worry as well, especially in the wake of high-profile incidents such as the Tihar murder of gangster Sunil Balyan alias Tillu Tajpuriya in 2023 and an attack with a makeshift knife on a member of rival Gogi gang in June this year.”

Secondly, believe it or not, risk mitigants are also inserted into the mules’ bodies to reduce the risk of death: “The items are carefully wrapped in multiple layers of condoms, plastic sheets, ink, and tape, transforming into compact capsules that are easy to swallow. The condom acts as a lubricant, and the ink warns if the packaging might have ruptured. Inky stool or urine signals that it’s time to seek medical help.

But though the process requires some careful planning, the risks overall are low.

“Once loaded with the delivery, they commit some petty crime and get arrested. They then either vomit out these phones and drug packets or pass it through stool,” Dr Dalal said…

In the worst cases, drug packets could burst, causing an overdose and mobile phones could corrode from stomach acids, but such cases are rare, according to Dr Dalal.

“In most cases, they get by with no real damage. Endoscopy itself is a non-invasive procedure where you do not even have to stay in the hospital for a day,” he said. “So, the rewards far exceed the possible risks.””

Thirdly, just as in any other profession, in this trade as well there are certain skills that separate the best from the rest: “A young doctor, surrounded by a pile of case files, holds up two CT scans. One is a scan of a regular patient, and the other of a prisoner who was admitted at GB Pant Hospital a month ago. The differences are subtle, but obvious to the trained eyes at the gastroenterology department.

“These are the sphincter muscles, which are present in various parts of our body,” the doctor said, pointing at the food pipe in the inmate’s scan. “In regular people, these muscles restrict and regulate the passage of food, urine, bile etc. But in professional body packers, the muscle loosens because of swallowing large objects. This makes it easy to ingest and pass out large objects.””

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