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Kerala: Ex-serviceman, 9 others held in Rs 7-crore drug haul

The special investigation team include Malappuram DySP Jaleel Thottathil, Manjeri inspector N.B. Shyju and sub-inspector Riyas Chakkeeri.

MALAPPURAM: In a major haul of banned drugs, the Malappuram district police seized brown sugar and ketamine worth around Rs 7 crore in the international market from Areekode and Manjeri and arrested ten persons including an ex-serviceman and state government employee. The members of the interstate drug peddling gang were on police net for the past few weeks and were trapped in a covert operation launched after the seizure of methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) worth cores last week from Areekode.

The gang arrested from Areekode have been identified as Ashok Kumar, 23, and Vasudevan, 53, from Chennai and Natarajan, 40 and Kannan, 44 from Tirunelveli and Sivadasan, 40 from Kanyakumari. The arrested from Manjeri have are ex-serviceman Shyam Jaggu, 39, from Jodhpur in Rajasthan, Banakk Karthik, 28, from Mysore and state govt employee and Kodiyathur native Fasil Kallunadiyil, 36, and his relative Ashraf Puthiyottil.

Acting on information received from those got arrested last week, the police launched covert operation by dealing directly with members of this gangs from Tamilnadu and Karnataka. The cops impersonated as drug distributors and visited Palani, Kodaikanal, Nagercoil and Trichy to create a rapport with them and were following their moves for the past several days. They intercepted both the gangs while transporting the contraband to distributors in Areekode and Manjeri.

They had tip-off on the arrival of ex-serviceman Shyam Jaggu to Bangalore five days ago with the drug to be handed over to Ashraf. Shyam was working as an agent of interstate drug peddling gang controlled by a Madhya Pradesh based kingpin after voluntarily retiring from the Indian Air Force two years ago, the police said. Jaggu was part of them while serving the force as well. The police team will soon go to Madhya Pradesh for further probe into the drug racket, said Malappuram district police chief Debesh Kumar Behera. The special investigation team include Malappuram DySP Jaleel Thottathil, Manjeri inspector N.B. Shyju and sub-inspector Riyas Chakkeeri.

( Source : Deccan Chronicle. )
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