A special team of police personnel seized ₹1 crore worth crystal form of methamphetamine, a party drug which was smuggled into the city for supply and sale to youth and arrested four accused, including a kingpin in drug peddling.
Following information on the movement of a contraband consignment, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Adyar, V. Vikraman, constituted a special team and mounted surveillance.
The police said the team caught Ajmal Khan, 22, of Triplicane while he was selling the contraband. Based on his information, the police rounded up the kingpin Basheer Ahamed, 47, who allegedly smuggled the contraband from abroad and supplied it to local peddlers to be sold in the city. Two others namely Settu Mohammed, 47, of Chepauk and Abdul Kalik, 48, of Perambur were caught.
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On interrogation, the police recovered 1.36 kg of methamphetamine in crystal forms, each crystal weighing about 1/2 gram. The price for one gram varied from ₹5,000 to ₹10,000. Also known as meth, crystal, glass, ice, speed and shards, methamphetamine is a psychostimulant “party” drug. It has long-lasting and more harmful effects on the central nervous system, said the police.
The police arrested the four accused under the provisions of Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act and remanded them in judicial custody. About ₹1.22 lakh cash, two cars and a motorcycle were seized from them. Basheer Ahamed was arrested by Customs officials for smuggling electronic items in 2010.