A gang of three drug peddlers led by a 37-year-old woman was arrested on Sunday. Police recovered 1,100 grams of ganja at her house in Vinayakapuram in Kasimedu.
Sunday’s seizure was the second such instance in less than a week. On May 21, a special police team arrested a 25-year-old Ramesh, a notorious drug peddler, and recovered five kilograms of ganja from his house in D.K. Colony in Pulianthope.
Police sources said on Sunday morning, a police team found three persons exchanging a bunch of small packets. When the policemen called out to them, the trio fled. However, after a brief chase, police nabbed S. Shanthi (37) and her two agents — K. Madan (24) and S. Murugan (34). “The gang has an excellent network which enables it to source the contraband from Andhra Pradesh. All three were arrested and sent to Puzhal prison,” said Kasimedu police inspector, John Sundar.
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Police sources said Shanthi sourced the contraband from her agents in Vijayawada while Madan and Murugan sold it in New Washermenpet and Korukupet. Shanthi gets the consignment in bulk and packs them in small packets.
The gang used to bring the ganja in gunny bags which they threw off trains between Tondiarpet and Basin Bridge railway stations. Later, they would collect the bags from near the tracks. This was to avoid the stricter surveillance at Chennai Central. Students of various colleges in the city are the main clientele
Authorities in Kerala have stepped up their watch in recent times. Hence, Andhra Pradesh has become the main source. Traders keep the bundles in their godowns and then retail it to street peddlers. The profit margin is really high in this process. The street price of ganja is between Rs. 30 and Rs. 50 for five grams.
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