Over 500 kg ganja seized in Thiruvananthapuram, two held

Excise sleuths said the consignment would be estimated around Rs 20 crore in the market and they suspect a Malayali group based in Mysuru in transporting this large quantity of ganja to the state.
A special squad of Kerala excise seized over 500 kilogram of ganja in a container truck at Korani near Attingal in Thiruvananthapuram. (Photo| EPS)
A special squad of Kerala excise seized over 500 kilogram of ganja in a container truck at Korani near Attingal in Thiruvananthapuram. (Photo| EPS)

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In what could be termed as the biggest ganja haul in the history of the state, a special enforcement squad of the Excise department seized 500kg of ganja from a container truck at Korany near Attingal in Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday. The driver and cleaner of the truck, both north Indians, were taken into custody. The arrested are Krishna Yadav, a native of Jharkhand, and Kulwant Singh, a native of Punjab residing in Telangana.

According to the Excise officials, the Andhra Pradesh-registration truck was intercepted by the squad around 9.30am on the National Highway at Korany when they were proceeding to Thiruvananthapuram to supply ganja to Apesh, a notorious dealer based in Chirayinkeezhu. The Excise has initiated steps to trace him. The ganja was packed in 250 packets, each weighing 2kg, and concealed in secret chambers on the top of the container.

The truck was coming from Mysuru and entered the state via Kannur for supplying the contraband to various parts of the state. The excise sleuths said the value of the consignment would be estimated around `20 crore and they suspect the involvement of a Malayali group based in Mysuru behind the ganja deal. The officers said a probe is on to find the source of the contraband.

G Harikrishna Pillai, Assistant Excise Commissioner, Excise Enforcement and Anti Narcotic Special Squad, said that they identified two more suppliers in the state in addition to Apesh. “They are Sebu from Thrissur and Jithesh from Kannur. A probe is on to trace them as well as the source of the substance,” he said. 

The officer also said the vehicle was returning after supplying ganja in Kannur and Thrissur. Attingal Excise Inspector T Anikumar led the raid. 

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