PUDUCHERRY: Police have seized cocaine and MDMA (Methylene-dioxy methamphetamine), a psychoactive drug primarily used for recreational purposes, from three African students including a woman and arrested them.
Based on reliable information that some foreign nationals were keeping banned psychotropic substances/narcotic drugs in Maravady Street, Kurusukuppam, for the purpose of selling it to youths, labourers and the general public, Muthialpet police on May 16 evening conducted a search and found the three in possession of the drugs, Superintendent of Police (ANS) Vamseedhar Reddy said.
Justin Delvin Tarimo, 29, of Tanzania, a resident of Periyamudaliarchavady, Tamil Nadu, David Michael Elia, 26, of Sudan, a resident of Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu, and Francis Lucky Otery, 22, of Kenya, a resident of Salem, Tamil Nadu, were arrested with the banned substances. They were studying in various institutions in Tamil Nadu. Police found them in possession of two polythene pockets which contained 30 MDMA tablets, each weighing about 11 grams, and 23 small packets of cocaine powder, each weighing about 21 grams.
Based on this, a case under section 8 (c) r/w 21 (b), 22 (c) of NDPS Act 1985 was registered. All the accused were remanded into judicial custody. All other technical procedures were carried out as per NDPS Act while packing and sealing the contraband items, said the SP.
Police have already been fighting the ganja menace and had launched Operation Vidiyal to curb it. Under the supervision of SSP (Law and order), police along with the help of ANS teams have conducted joint raids in various places and now the movement of more substances to Puducherry has come to the fore.