NAGAPATTINAM: Four men, including a Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) functionary who was expelled from the party following the incident, were remanded to judicial custody on Saturday evening in connection with the seizure of 137 kg (gross) of suspected crystal methamphetamine worth over Rs 100 crore in Nagapattinam district.
The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) seized the contraband, suspected to have been intended for smuggling to Sri Lanka through a mid-sea transfer, during an operation conducted on October 16 and 17.
The accused were N. Boobalan (42), a lawyer from Chinthamani and a member of the TVK's district executive committee who was expelled after the incident; J. Suganathan (27), a lodge operator from Velankanni who hails from Prathaparamaapuram; D. Sathish (30); and G. Manikandan.
According to an official release from the Ministry of Finance on Sunday, acting on specific intelligence about a consignment of narcotics transported to a coastal location in Nagapattinam district for storage and onward smuggling to Sri Lanka, DRI officials conducted surveillance and searches on October 16 and 17.
The operation led to the recovery of six duffel bags containing 27 silver-foil packets, each weighing approximately 5 kg. Sources said the packets contained a white crystalline substance suspected to be high-purity methamphetamine.
In a simultaneous search at the premises of the suspected organiser, DRI officials seized Rs 10 lakh in cash suspected to be proceeds from drug sales. Two cars and a two-wheeler allegedly used to transport the narcotic substance were also seized.
Officials said the operation exposed a suspected network involved in organising the coastal shipment, transportation, storage and logistics of the consignment.
The contraband was seized under the provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985.
The official release described the seizure as one of the biggest narcotics hauls in Tamil Nadu's coastal region in recent years, adding that the operation had disrupted an organised drug-trafficking network and aimed to prevent the use of India's coastline as a corridor for illicit narcotics trafficking.