A special team led by SP (Rural) A J Thomas Kutty has been formed to tackle ganja smugglers. The move has come in the wake of the police nabbing three persons on Tuesday and seizing 17.5 kg of ganja from them.
The police have launched an investigation into the smuggling racket which was busted at Poovar on Tuesday after two men were nabbed with 12 kg in their possession. The police had also unearthed 5.5 kg of ganja from a house at Pallom during raids. No further arrests were made on Wednesday, but Poovar police said the investigation was progressing.
The two men had brought the ganja from Theni on a scooter expecting sales to shoot up once the schools reopen after the summer vacation. The police had nabbed the scooter riders Aravind, 21, of Thiruvallom and Kannan, 22 of Thiruvananthapuram and a woman, Jinji, 47 of Valiyathura, for whom the consignment was reportedly intended.
On Tuesday, the police had taken out raids in Poonthura, Poovar and Kanjiramkulam following a tip-off that a ganja consignment was in transit. On questioning, the accused revealed that the ganja had been purchased from Theni for Rs 12,000 a kilo. The price would shoot up enormously - up to Rs 1 lakh a kilo - in retail sales, the police had said on Tuesday. The woman arrested in connection with the incident, Jinji, is an accused in several cases, the police said.