CHENNAI: The Chennai City Police have busted a quackery and arrested five people including a 25-year-old woman who is the kingpin. She had succeeded her father who is currently lodged in prison for smuggling ganja. The police have allegedly recovered 7g of methamphetamine from the gang.
The arrested were identified as G Fathima Moufiya of Manali, V Dinesh Pratap (23) of Kodungaiyur, S Santhosh (18) of Todiarpet, M Praveen (20) of Puzhal, and K Tejesh (18) of Washermenpet.
The Esplanade police caught the gang during a vehicle check at Manandi on Wednesday afternoon. Four people on two bikes were stopped and checked. The police found the gang possessing methamphetamine. Further inquiry revealed that they were working for Fathima. The police then traced and arrested her.
The police said Fathima’s father Shahul Hameed was running the drug network. Three years ago, after he got convicted in a ganja smuggling case, Fathima took over the network along with people working under Hameed.
The network primarily concentrated on methamphetamine and used trains as mode of transportation. The police said the network interacted with customers only through secured channels and used youngsters to smuggle the drug from North India on trains and deboarded at minor stations. They hired unemployed youths to sell the drugs in and around bars and pubs in the city.
The arrested were sent to judicial custody.