KOLLAM: In an effort to dismantle the drug trafficking network in the district, 96 cases were registered across various stations in 2024 under the Kollam city police limits. A total of 151 individuals were arrested, and authorities seized 409.255 gram of MDMA, valued at approximately Rs 5,000 per gram, along with 81.009 kilogram of ganja, worth around Rs 40,000 per kilogram.
Officials estimate that the total value of drugs seized by the city police exceeded Rs 50 lakh last year. Also, as part of the crackdown, a total of six vehicles, including five two-wheelers and one car, were seized.
Of the 96 cases, 14 were related to attempts to smuggle drugs on a commercial scale, 22 involved possession of quantities between small and commercial amounts, and 60 cases were for possessing small quantities. The largest MDMA seizure occurred on August 23, when Vinesh, 42, from Mayyanad, was arrested by Kollam East police near Kollam Beach with 94.513 gram of MDMA, worth Rs 5 lakh.
In the most significant ganja seizure, officers intercepted a car near Skylab Junction in Oachira and confiscated 30 kilogram of ganja. The arrests of Kumar, 28, from Neendakara; Shaibur Raj, 35, from Chavara Madappally; Vishnu, 26, Jeevan Sha, 29, and Pramod, 32, from Panmana followed. During interrogations, police tracked and arrested Naba Kishor, an Odisha native, who had been supplying ganja to various states. He was apprehended in Odisha.
In another development, Nigerian national, Okwuduli Mimri, involved in commercial drug trafficking to Kerala and other states with a base in Bengaluru, was arrested based on information from an accused.
Four women were also arrested in various drug-related cases last year.