In a major haul, the Q branch police have seized 625 gelatine sticks, 300 ordinary detonators and 36 meters of fuse wire and detained two persons for possessing the explosives at their farm house at the coastal fishing town Devipattinam near here.
Acting on a tip-off, a special team led by Q branch Inspector of Police R Kennedy launched a search at the two-acre coconut farm house, located just 30 meters from the seashore on Tuesday evening and found the explosives buried in the sand.
Enquiries revealed that M. Khadar Nainar Mohamed (32) who was running a mineral water unit in the farm and K. Sahul Hameed (39), an electrician, had purchased the explosives from N. Meeran Ghani (46) of Devipattinam for supplying them to fishermen indulging in dynamite fishing.
Mr. Kennedy said Ghani who was booked for possessing gelatine sticks and detonators in October 2013 had supplied the explosives to the duo after purchasing them from his contacts in Madurai.
He could not be arrested then as he had obtained anticipatory bail. He had been involved in supplying the explosives since then, police said.
The explosives were used for the purpose of dynamite fishing, a banned fishing practice, Mr Kennedy said. Some greedy fishermen explode the gelatine sticks under the sea to kill the fish for easy collection. Once the dead fish floated on the surface of the sea, they just scoop them and return shore.
On being handed over by the Q branch police, the Devipattinam police arrested the two accused under section 5 of the Explosives and Substances Act, 1908, police said.
The duo, hailing from Thirupalaikudi, were produced before a Magistrate Court and remanded in judicial custody, police added.
A special team launched a search at the farm house and found the explosives buried
in sand
