Excise sleuths on Thursday arrested a 41-year-old man on the charge of ganja peddling and seized 7 kilograms of contraband from his possession.
The arrested is Muhammadali, a native of Tirur in Malappuram.
He landed in the custody of Excise sleuths while attempting to hand over the ganja consignment to another person at a multiplex in Kochi.
An examination of his baggage revealed that the contraband had been kept in five packets covered with adhesive tapes.
Investigation on
During interrogation, Muhammadali confessed to having links with ganja retailers across the State, and a follow-up probe is on to trace the other members of the racket.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the accused had acted as a middleman for a major ganja racket operating in north Kerala. He used to buy ganja from Cumbam, Theni and Periyakulam regions in Tamil Nadu and used to retail it at a much higher price in the local market.
Cannabis plant
Meanwhile, in a separate case, the Ernakulam Rural police arrested a 46-year-old man who grew a cannabis plant near his house. The arrested is Jayachandra Yadav, a native of Bihar and an employee of a plywood factory near Chalakkal.
During inspection, officials spotted the 70-cm-long plant at the backyard of the rented house.
Both the accused have been booked under the provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act.
They were produced before court.
