In a planned operation, a police team led by K.M. Devasya, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Mananthavady, seized 1 kg of heroin, estimated at ₹2 crore, and arrested five persons from a lodge at Buffalo Street at Mananthavady in the district on Thursday night.
Those arrested were identified as Ajay Singh, 42, from Mathura in Uttar Pradesh; Madhusoodanan, 56, of Peedika Thazhe, Payyannur; Asokan, 45, of Kunnummal house, Kanhangad; Balakrishnan, 47, of Kaniyanthole at Cheemeni, Kasaragod; and Shyjul, 37, of Uparickal house, Cherupuzha, in Kannur district.
From Barakpur
During interrogation, Ajay Singh revealed that he brought the contraband from Barakpur in Uttar Pradesh.
The narcotic was kept in small polythene bags in a handbag. Acting on a tip-off, the police arrested them while Ajay was trying to sell the narcotic to one Rafeeque and Bijulal at Pazhayannur with the help of other members, Mr. Devasya told The Hindu .
Rafeeque and Bijulal were absconding. A car that was used to transport the contraband was also seized, he said .
The accused were charged under various sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substance (NDPS) Act. They would be produced before the First Class Judicial Magistrate Court, Mananthavady, in the evening.
