Kochi: As many as seven persons were arrested on Wednesday for possession and sale of ganja from various parts of the city.
In the first case, the city shadow police took two persons into custody and seized nearly five kilograms of ganja brought for sale among tourists.
The arrested were identified as Rameshan (52) alias ‘Dada’, a native of Pathanamthitta, and his accomplice Ranjith (38) of Karikkamury. Rameshan was nabbed from near Vytilla mobility hub with over four kg ganja and Ranjith with a kilo of the contraband from Elamakkara.
“Rameshan used to bring in the contraband in bulk quantify from Odisha and Ranjith used to connect him with tour guides. The ganja categorised as ‘Sheelavati’ was sold at '4000 per kilo to tourists passing it for Idukki Gold,” police said.
Meanwhile, the Excise sleuths arrested Tankapandi (43), a native of Bodimettu in Tamil Nadu, from near the Aluva Railway station on Wednesday morning and seized two kg ganja from his possession.
“He used to buy the substance from Theni at Rs 5000 per kg and sell them in small packets to customers here at exorbitant rates. He took him into custody from before the Federal Bank ATM counter near railway station while acting on a tip-off,” an Excise official said.
The Excise officials also arrested two others from Kalady for sale of ganja among college students. The arrested were identified as Abdul Karim (52), a native of Perumbavoor, and Rasakh (37) of Maramballi.
“They used to obtain the narcotics from Thanjavoor and used to take it to Angamaly via train. During interrogation the duo said the ganja sale was held based on lodges in Kalady,” the official said.
Cops catch drug racket after tough chase through city
The Kochi City police on Wednesday arrested two members of a racket active in supplying ganja after chasing their car through the city and finally caught them when their vehicle met with an accident at South Kalamassery.
The arrested were identified as Adith C.K. (28), a resident of Thaliparambu, and Askar (32), a native of Thalassery, Kannur. Dried ganja, weighing two kg, was found hidden in the car.
According to cops, the duo was smuggling out the ganja in a car. The North Police, acting on a tip-off, signaled them to stop at Kaloor, but the accused sped on.
The cops gave them a chase while giving alerts to near-by police stations. However, in their bid to escape, the car hit a bike at South Kalamassery and the two were apprehended by Kalamassery Police. The bike rider was injured but his condition was stated to be out of danger.
“We’ve booked them under sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substa-nces (NDPS) Act besides charges under 337 IPC (causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others),”police said.
