The Excise department has made one of the biggest drug seizures in recent times when it arrested a man with brown sugar worth around ₹17 lakh in Kothamangalam town on Thursday night.
The arrested is Shakoor Ali, 32, of Nagaon district in Assam. Brown sugar in 563 small bottles was seized from him. He was produced in court on Friday and remanded in judicial custody.
“We had arrested a local resident a couple of days ago after he was found lurking around in suspicious circumstances. When interrogated, he revealed that drugs were easily available in Kothamangalam town, including in areas near the revenue tower,” said A. Jose Prathap, Excise Circle Inspector, Kothamangalam.
Subsequently, the department deployed plainclothesmen from its shadow team in the said areas. It was during this surveillance that Shakoor was found moving around in suspicious circumstances in the town on Thursday night. He was reportedly waiting for his clients.
“He had no job but was mostly involved in drug peddling. He used to smuggle in drugs from his home State. He was actively peddling in areas including Aluva, Perumbavoor, Muvattupuzha, and Kothamangalam,” said Mr. Prathap.
The Excise suspects him to be a part of a racket engaged in drug peddling in rural areas. He is suspected to have local aides in Perumbavoor. The department has launched a probe to track down his accomplices.
Enforcement agencies have been in an overdrive in the rural areas of Ernakulam to crack down on drug rackets, which have been increasingly shifting from ganja to synthetic drugs. A drive, ‘Yodhav’, by the rural police has also made significant seizures of late.
A team comprising preventive officers K.A. Niyas and Jai Mathews, civil excise officers M.M. Nandhu, K.C. Eldho, and P.T. Rahul, and driver Biju Paul made the arrest.
