THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Hours after one of the biggest ganja hauls was reported in the state with the seizure of 405 kg of ganja, the Excise enforcement squad on Saturday seized 250 kg of ganja from Akkulam in a truck.
The excise team arrested two youths Banash Basheer and Ajinaz, both aged 27, from Idukki and Areekode in Malappuram respectively. The truck was seized around 10.30 am and the contraband was concealed under disposable cups in the guise of transporting cups.
The team intercepted the vehicle based on the information received from the two youths from the capital who were arrested on Friday. The vehicle was found parked at Akkulam to supply the ganja to local peddlers.
Excise Circle Inspector T Anikumar, who led the operation, said the seized contraband was worth around Rs 1.25 crore in the market.
"We have arrested the two based on the information we got from the arrested youths. The ganja was found in sacks which were concealed under the cups covered in packets. It was smuggled from Rajamundry in Andhra Pradesh via Tamil Nadu to the northern parts of Kerala. The arrested are regular carriers and many people including Keralites based in Bengaluru and Chennai helped them to smuggle the substances. We will interrogate them to get more information about the source and other persons involved in the racket. They will also be brought to book soon," he said.
He also said the operation was launched on the basis of information received during the probe into the seizure of 200 kg of ganja from Balaramapuram here five months ago. Last year, the Excise team had seized 500 kg of ganja from a container truck at Korany near Attingal in Thiruvananthapuram.