THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Two foreigners who supplied synthetic drugs to peddlers in Kerala were among the 795 people arrested in the three days following the launch of Operation Toofan, Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala said on Friday.
The Kerala Police arrested Samuel Clefson Okafor and Elcina Sanatan Souza from Delhi and Bengaluru during follow-up investigation into NDPS cases registered by the Pandalam and Perinad police, respectively, Chennithala told mediapersons. While Samuel is a Nigerian national, the nationality of Elcina has not been revealed.
The police, he said, registered 728 cases for drug-related cases since the launch of the statewide anti-drug crackdown on Tuesday. In six of the cases, commercial quantity of drugs were involved.
In all, narcotics valued at Rs 60 lakh were seized. This included 600g of MDMA and 48kg of ganja, he said. “The special branch of the state police has formed a special wing (T-Branch) within the intelligence setup to handle drug-related cases,” Chennithala said.
“Toofan is a follow-up to D-Hunt,” he said. On the occasion, Chennithala rolled out three numbers — 9497979794, 9497927797 and 9995966666 (WhatsApp) — through which people can anonymously report drug rackets. “Several celebrities, social activists and religious leaders have expressed interest in cooperating with Operation Toofan. This is a crusade against drug mafia and is being handled scientifically and professionally,” he said.