THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Venjaramoodu police and the anti-narcotics special squad jointly arrested a Sreekaryam native who owns ganja plantations in Maoist-infested hinterlands of Odisha. Abhilash, 37, of Edavacode near Sreekaryam, and his accomplice Pradeesh Kumar, 36, of Kulathoor were arrested from Tamil Nadu when they came there to celebrate Diwali.
The police said Abhilash cultivated ganja in a vast area of forest land in Naxal-affected areas. He also supplied several tonnes of contraband to the state. Pradeesh, who had criminal antecedents, helped Abhilash to arrange vehicles to transport the drug.
The police said Abhilash did financial transactions via the bank accounts of local residents to avoid capture. The probe into the seizure of 200 kg ganja from Venjaramoodu in July led the sleuths to Abhilash. Though the cops tailed him in Odisha, he managed to escape into the forest.