KOCHI: The police on Wednesday arrested two West Bengal natives who supplied the ganja recently seized from the Government Polytechnic College hostel in Kalamassery.
The accused, Sohail Shaik and Aehinta Mandal, who belong to Murshidabad, were taken into custody from Muvattupuzha.
The police had raided the college hostel on March 13, confiscating 1.9kg of ganja from the room of Akash M, 21, of Kulathupuzha. Additionally, 9.7 grams of ganja were recovered from the rooms of Adithyan, 20, of Hairpad and Abhiraj, 21, of Karunagappally.
Subsequent arrests included those of college alumni Aashique and Shalik from Aluva for having supplied the ganja to Akash. Based on their statements, the police later arrested Anuraj R.
During interrogation, Anuraj admitted to procuring ganja from a migrant worker known as Sohail Bhai in Aluva.
“After the students’ arrests, Sohail went into hiding, switched off his phone, and left Aluva. However, acting on a tip-off, we tracked him to a friend’s room in Muvattupuzha, where he was staying with Mandal. Both were arrested from there,” a police officer said.
The police identified Sohail and Mandal as known ganja peddlers within migrant worker communities, with previous involvement in drug-related cases.
“They regularly transported ganja from West Bengal and Odisha, selling it at higher prices in Aluva. Our investigation confirmed that Polytechnic College students had procured ganja from Sohail multiple times. We have also uncovered bank transactions linking the accused. Further inquiries will determine the involvement of more migrant workers in the case,” the officer added.
The arrested persons were produced before the court and remanded in judicial custody. Following the ganja seizure, the police have intensified checking on college premises and hostels in Kochi. The police are also conducting a special drive to nab drug peddlers.