The Ernakulam Rural police seized nearly 14 kg of ganja and arrested seven persons in two separate cases on August 1 (Thursday).
In one incident, the Binanipuram police seized 6.50 kg of ganja and arrested six persons, including a woman. The gang was allegedly peddling the narcotic in the garb of online food delivery.
The arrested are Habeeb, 24, of Thrissur, Sulfath, 20, of Guruvayur, Amal Joseph, 28, of Kizhakkambalam, Sudhi Sabu, 24, and Sujith Sabu, 22, of Edathala, and Abu Thahir, 24, of Kunnamkulam. They were arrested on the basis of a tip-off received by District Police Chief (Ernakulam Rural) Vaibhav Saxena.
The police team was busy inspecting a vehicle when a car sped away despite being asked to stop. According to the police, those in the car were seen anxiously looking back at the other vehicle. Following this, the police gave the car a chase and traced it to a house at Elookkara.
Ganja was recovered in the ensuing examination of the house. The police said the gang had been using the rented house for the past six months. The arrested were contract staff of a prominent food aggregator and used it as a cover for selling ganja, which was sourced from Kochi.
7 kg of ganja seized
In another case, Suhail Mandal, 30, of Murshidabad in West Bengal was arrested with 7 kg of ganja. A special team led by Perumbavoor Assistant Superintendent of Police made the arrest as part of the ongoing Operation Clean.
He used to allegedly source ganja from his friend in Odisha and brought it by train. He reportedly sold it for ₹20,000 per kg, mostly among migrant workers and youngsters. Though he tried to flee on spotting the police team, he was chased down. A search is on for the person who reportedly sold ganja to the arrested.
