KOCHI: Two gangs of drug peddlers came to blows in the city on Tuesday over the ‘quality’ of ganja supplied. The police arrested a four-member gang following the incident and also recovered one gram of MDMA from them.
Anas and Abu Tahir of Mannarkad, and Athul Dev and Rahul of Haripad were arrested by the Ernakulam South Police on Tuesday.
As per the police, the Haripad natives, targeting New Year business, bought around 2kg of ganja from the Mannarkad gang after paying Rs 60,000. However, they later demanded their money back alleging substandard quality of the contraband. They were asked to bring the ganja to Kochi and place it near a metro pillar, which they did, said the police.
However, the Mannarkad gang took away the ganja but did not return the money. Soon, gang members from Haripad chased the others in a car before entering into a fight with them. Upon receiving an alert, the police team reached the spot and arrested the four peddlers.
One gram of MDMA was recovered from their possession. In a search at one of the accused persons’ residences in Elamakkara, the police seized 2kg of ganja. The police said the search is on for one more person involved in peddling.
Meanwhile, the police have tightened vigil against the drug trade given the New Year celebrations. A special squad has been constituted to check whether there is an inflow of drugs and spurious liquor into the city, police said. Vehicle inspections have also been intensified.