KOCHI: The city police were in for a surprise when they nabbed a national arm wrestling champion here on Saturday for allegedly selling marijuana. The reason? He wanted to raise money to make his international debut in Malaysia. The police said Arjas T P, 28, of Kundoor, Narayanan Road, Kallayi, was arrested from a spot close to the Government Higher Secondary School, Puthiyappa, by a special squad formed by city police chief S Kaliraj Mahesh Kumar to track drug peddlers.
He was later taken to Vellayil station, where his arrest was recorded. Vellayil Sub Inspector Jamsheed P said they were questioning the accused to get more details about the racket. "We're verifying his details and claims," said Jamsheed. Police officers said 600 gm of ganja was recovered from him and he was suspected to be part of a racket which has been into selling ganja to schoolchildren in the city. The accused confessed to the police he was selling ganja mainly in West Hill, Kallayi, Puthiyappa and Beypore.
Arjas, a porter at Kallayi, has been an arm wrestler for the past four years. He was the national runner-up in the 100 kg category. The police said Arjas had given a statement he took to drug peddling to raise money to meet the expenses, which include travelling to compete at the international event. Kerala Arm Wrestling Association general secretary Jojy Elloor confirmed Arjas was a champion performer who had won many accolades for the state.
"We had not received any intimation from Arjas about his decision to participate in the international event. As per our information, an open world championship is scheduled in Malaysia in January 2018 and he might have been preparing for that," said Jojy. "He's a talented sportsman and we don't know why he resorted to drug peddling," he said.
4-year career
Arjas, a porter at Kallayi, has been an arm wrestler for the past fouryears
600gm of ganja was recovered from Arjas
Police said he was suspected to be part of a racket which has been into selling ganja to schoolchildren
in the city