Excise sleuths on Wednesday arrested a migrant labourer, allegedly a member of an inter-State ganja racket, and seized 2.6 kg of the contraband from his possession.
The arrested was identified as Mufidul Islam, 33, a native of Assam. Acting on a tip-off, an excise team took him into custody from a location near Kothamangalam the other night.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the accused used to bring cheap quality ganja from other States and sell it among migrant labourers and students in the region. The accused was booked under the provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act and remanded in custody. Enforcement agencies have specific information on the operation of rackets in States such as West Bengal, which are engaged in transporting banned tobacco products, cheap quality ganja and psychotropic drugs to Kerala. These products are sold mainly among migrant labourers in the Ernakulam rural district, which is regarded as the hub of migrant workers in the State.
The carriers of these rackets, who bring in the contraband, leave the station premises through unauthorised exit points after staying at the platform for a long time to evade police surveillance.
The railway police in Ernakulam alone seized about 25 kg of ganja in 2015 and another 40 kg of the contraband the following year.
