CHENNAI: Three persons were arrested for carrying 1 kg of Ephedrine, a banned drug, near the Koyambedu bus terminus on Monday.
Police said on Tuesday a vifil was mounted in search of drug smugglers following a tip-off. A police decoy was set up to secure the drug from the suppliers at a hotel behind the Kaliamman temple. The three accused, N Prabhakaran (43), S Sethuraman (27) and M Kanakasabai (40), all hailing from Cuddalore, made their way to the hotel. They claimed to offer a kg of brown sugar to the police decoy and were immediately arrested and the consignment seized. The Narcotics Control Bureau here confirmed that the seized contraband was Ephedrine used to manufacture other costlier drugs like Brown Sugar, cocaine and Ketamine.
The trio have been in the drug supply business for the past three years and were part of a big network in Cuddalore, police sources said. They were being sent to Bangalore for supply to regular clients. The drugs could have been sourced from Afghanistan, Sri Lanka or Pakistan, the source added. They have been booked under Section 9 A and Section 25 A of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act and remanded to police custody.