THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Excise Department on Friday arrested three Ernakulam natives, smuggling 11.5 kg of hashish oil worth Rs 12 crore in a car at Venpalavattom here. The drug was being brought from Andhra Pradesh and was to be delivered to a main agent in the city. The arrest was effected by a team of excise officers led by Excise Circle Inspector T Anikumar, on the basis of a tipoff.
Those arrested were Manu Wilson, 31, of Muvattupuzha, Anwar Sadath, 31, of Kakkanad, and Rajmohan, 28, of Mattancherry. Manu and Anwar have been involved in similar cases before.
Excise officials said the trio were carriers and were assigned to transport the drug from Andhra Pradesh to Thiruvananthapuram in exchange for a fee of Rs 1 lakh. The hashish oil was to be delivered to a Kothamangalam native, who is absconding.
The oil and 2.5 kg ganja were found hidden in secret chambers inside the car. A sharp-edged weapon akin to a sword was also recovered from the car. It was kept for self-defence in case the group came under attack from rival gangs enroute Kerala.
Sources said hashish oil was meant for the international market. In earlier cases, when hashish oil was seized, it was found to be heading towards Maldives.
“In this case too, we feel it was heading towards Maldives and Sri Lanka. By air and by boats, the drugs could have been smuggled to the countries. We will reveal more details after the probe,” an officer said.
Excise Commissioner Rishiraj Singh said the drug inflow to the city is on a rise.
“In the last one year, we have registered seven cases and 24 small dealers were arrested,” he said. Singh also awarded Rs 50,000 to the officers, including Anikumar, Krishna Kumar, Pradeep Rao and Mukhesh, for successfully completing the operation.