KOCHI: The Excise Crime Branch team, probing the seizure of more than 1,100gm of MDMA from a flat at Vazhakkala, has been granted the custody of two people arrested in connection with the case. The three-day custody of Shifan Taj from Ernakulam and Deepesh from Kozhikode was allowed after the investigation team approached the court with a petition to this effect on Thursday.
The team had arrested Taj on September 14, after it was found that an amount of nearly Rs 2 lakh was transferred from his account to one of the people who were earlier arrested in the case. He was taken to his rented apartment in Kakkanad as part of evidence collection on Thursday. Deepesh, arrested on September 20, is allegedly one of the main funders behind drug racket. Transactions worth around Rs 32 lakh have been made using his bank accounts. Deepesh was taken to Kozhikode on Friday for evidence collection.
“The gang was initially based in Kozhikode. It was just around two months ago that they shifted to Kochi. Hence, all major funders of the gang are from Kozhikode,” an excise official said, adding Deepesh’s bank and call details were being looked into.
Meanwhile, the investigation team has sought the support of the Tamil Nadu Police’s narcotic cell to trace the suppliers of the gang, as they are learnt to have procured the drugs from Chennai. “Our team is working in coordination with the Tamil Nadu Police to arrest the main suppliers of the gang. We have received their support in several such drug seizure cases before,” an official said.