A day after seizing 405 kg of ganja near Balaramapuram, an excise enforcement squad caught two youths with alleged possession of 250 kg of the contraband in Akkulam on Saturday.
The State Excise Enforcement Squad arrested Banash of Idukki and Ajnas of Areekode in Malappuzha, both aged 27, with the stash that was found concealed in a parked lorry. The duo managed to cross the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border at Vazhikkadavu near Nilambur under the guise of transporting disposable cups.
The consignment, which is suspected to have been sourced from Rajahmundry in Andhra Pradesh, was intended to be supplied among drug peddlers in the city. The excise officers received information about the operation from two people, Harikrishnan of Thirumala and Ashkar of Vallakkadavu, who were caught a day ago with alleged possession of 405kg of ganja from Thachottukavu.
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According to Excise Circle Inspector T. Anikumar, who led the operation, said the ganja confiscated over two days could be worth over ₹3.25 crore in the black market. He pointed out that drug rackets have been exploring various avenues to smuggle large quantities into the state in anticipation of an extended lock down that could send many youths in search of addictive substances at a time when liquor outlets remained closed.
In a bid to exploit the scenario, the racketeers have also doubled the rates of such contraband. Each kg of ganja now sold for around ₹50,000, senior officer said.
The racket, which is allegedly operated by two Kowdiar and two Sreekaryam natives from Bengaluru and Andhra Pradesh, is also suspected to have been storing narcotics consignments in a godown at Edavacode near Sreekaryam. Efforts were currently on to locate the building.
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