THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Three persons were arrested with 52g of MDMA near the KSRTC bus stand at Attingal by the Thiruvananthapuram Rural District Anti-Narcotics Special Action Force (DANSAF). The arrest was made based on a tip-off received by the rural district police chief that MDMA was being smuggled from Bengaluru to Thiruvananthapuram. The arrested were later handed over to the Attingal police.
The arrested are Sumesh, 29, of Chirayinkeezhu, Jifin, 29, of Kadinamkulam, and Palakkad native Anju Baby, 32.
Sumesh, a habitual offender, is believed to be the ringleader of the drug trafficking group. He has previous arrests and multiple cases related to narcotic smuggling pending with the police and the excise department.
Anju is reportedly employed at a spa at Kazhakkoottam and is suspected to be a major link in the drug distribution network operating through spa centres. Jifin, the third accused, allegedly worked in local lodges at Kazhakkoottam and was involved in distributing drugs under the guise of offering employment.
Officials said the seized MDMA was intended for commercial distribution. The trio had been under police surveillance following confidential intelligence received by the rural SP.
“Commercial quantity for MDMA is more than 10g. The seized MDMA is well above this threshold. The intent to traffic or distribute at such quantities makes the charges more severe compared to personal consumption. An investigation is ongoing to identify others involved in the network and trace the source of the substance,” said police.
The arrest was executed by a DANSAF team led by DySP (District Narcotics Cell) K Pradeep, Attingal DySP Manjulal, Attingal CI Gopakumar G, SI Jishnu and DANSAF SIs Fayas F, Dileep B and Bijukumar.
Meanwhile, a total of 2,306 people suspected of involvement in drug trafficking or possession were subjected to checks across the state as part of Operation D-hunt, aimed at combating drug abuse.
Following these inspections, 169 cases were registered for possession of various banned substances, and 179 people were arrested. The seizures included 0.103kg of MDMA, 4.5kg of ganja, and 128 ganja-laced beedis.