KOCHI: Police on Sunday arrested a person and seized narcotic drugs from him after busting an illegal gambling centre at a flat in Chilavannoor on Sunday.
Tipson Francis, 33, a North Paravur native, who allegedly ran the centre, was arrested and police seized 5gm of ganja from him. In order to hoodwink the police, the accused used plastic coins for gambling. The police also recovered several plastic coins with different denominations and playing cards.
Police received the tip-off about the centre during the investigation into the narcotic links of Syju Thankachan, who was arrested in connection with the car crash that killed three persons including two models on November 1.
The police have registered nine cases against Syju under the NDPS Act based on the videos of suspected rave parties recovered from his phone. The gambling centre was busted while the police team was carrying out raids in connection with these cases at Thrikkakara, Panangad, Maradu, Chilavannur and Chathiath Lane following the direction from City Police Commissioner C H Nagaraju. Sniffer dogs and narcotic special team took part in the searches. The raid was carried out by a team led Kochi City Police DCP Aiswarya Dongre.