A day after the anti-narcotics squad of the Ernakulam Rural police registered their biggest ever ganja haul of 117 kg and arrested three persons, Aluva Rural police chief A.V. George said the investigation would be intensified to find the vendors and potential buyers of the contraband.
Addressing a press conference at Perumbavur Dy.SP’s office on Friday, Mr. George said the ganja was probably meant for distribution among educational institutions, including professional colleges.
“We have information that school and college students are part of the network. The investigation team, led by Dy.SP G. Venu, is investigating colleges with students suspected of having such links,” Mr. George said. The contraband was found concealed in secret air-conditioned chambers indicating that the accused were seasoned smugglers.
The arrested were identified as Vinod, 47, of Idukki; Joby, 36, of Thrissur; and Mathew, 44, of Kottayam district. Following a tip-off, the pick-up van and car containing the contraband bought from Andhra Pradesh were intervened near Vallam. The first accused Vinod has been engaged in ganja smuggling from Andhra Pradesh for years and was once arrested with 64 kg of ganja.
Since the ganja produced in Idukki is supposed to be of high quality and fetched higher price, the accused used to store and distribute the ganja bought from Andhra Pradesh at various places in Idukki such as Adimali, Panikkamakadi, Rajakkad, and Rajakumari. Ganja bought for ₹3,000 a kg was sold by the accused for ₹20,000 a kg under the label of Idukki gold.
The contraband was smuggled out of Andhra Pradesh in specially designed pick-up vans in chambers disguised as the normal platform of the van with sliding doors. To avoid inspection at check-posts, no other cargo was loaded on to the van.
In addition to the latest haul, the squad has seized 64 kg of ganja and registered about 30 cases in the last three months.
