KOCHI: A friendship with an Andhra Pradesh resident struck in a prison in Visakhapatnam made a Perumbavoor native the kingpin of ganja trade in the district. The tale of the drug deal between Gokul and his supplier Dharmatheja is as interesting as a movie script.
The Ernakulam Rural police arrested Gokul along with his two friends for transporting 30kg of ganja from Andhra Pradesh through a courier service last month. During interrogation, Gokul disclosed the identity of 21-year-old Dharmatheja of Kakinada district, who has a strong network in Andhra Pradesh to arrange the drug.
“Nearly three years ago, they were caught in a drug peddling case in Visakhapatnam. Coincidentally, both shared a cell at Central Prison, Visakhapatnam. Within a few days, they became close friends. Since both had the same intention, they developed a plan to supply ganja from Andhra Pradesh to Kerala. Since they found that the courier service was the safest mode of transportation, they decided to send the parcels through courier. When they came out of the jail, they became partners in crime,” said a police officer with Ernakulam Rural police who arrested Dharmatheja from Kakinada.
The police also found out that the members of Dharmatheja’s gang are also the major suppliers of ganja in Andhra Pradesh. “The duo’s business was not just transporting ganja to Kerala. Dharmatheja helped the people from Kerala who arrived with the recommendation of Gokul to get the drug in Andhra Pradesh. Gokul also shared a small margin of profit for recommending the customer. They developed the strategy when they shared the same jail cell,” the officer said.
The duo had transported over 1,000kg in these years. “When interrogated, Gokul and his friends admitted that they had transported large quantities of ganja to the state. They had also created a network of people to sell the ganja in large and small quantities. We need to investigate more to track down other persons involved in the crime,” said the officer.