COIMBATORE: A 58-year-old man was arrested at Rathinapuri on Saturday for selling ganja-laced chocolates. Police seized around 21 kg of chocolates and launched a hunt to arrest 15 others involved in the case.
Based on a tip-off, the police team attached to Rathinapuri station held a search at the Kannappa Nagar near Sanganoor road junction and found the suspect K Balaji, a daily wage labourer, selling weed chocolates. Police caught him red-handed and seized the chocolates from him, said sources.
During the inquiry, he revealed that he had a network of 15 people, primarily youngsters, in the city. He brought the consignment from Rajasthan and Bangalore and distributed it to the gang who then sold it in retail, sources added.
Deputy Commissioner (North) GS Madhavan said, "The chocolate in cyan colour had proper plastic wrapping like normal chocolates. It is being sold one chocolate of about 5 g for`200. Mostly the networks target the school and college students."
All 16 people were booked under various sections of the IPC and Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. Most of them were regular ganja peddlers and turned to sellers of ganja chocolates as the police tightened their surveillance against their network. They were working in a different field to cover up their illegal activity, the sources added.
Earlier this week, the RS Puram police seized 40 kg of ganja-laced-chocolates from a Rajasthan native and it was a second such seizure in the city. The police have seized similar products from guest workers in Tiruppur recently.