In a major breakthrough against drug trafficking, Tamil Nadu Police arrested three persons on Friday, including Evie Ponuke, a 26-year-old Kenyan woman, for supplying drugs to college students in Coimbatore. The trio, who were involved in the illegal narcotics trade, were arrested in Coimbatore and later presented before a local court, where they were remanded to judicial custody.
The two accomplices of Evie Ponuke were Praveen Kumar, 30, from Dindigul, and Vinod, 28, from Ramanathapuram. According to police officials, Praveen and Vinod had been supplying drugs to the area from Bengaluru and Dharwad, Karnataka, where they had been sourcing narcotics for the operation.
The investigation began after Praveen and Vinod were arrested by Coimbatore police, and through interrogation, Evie Ponuke was identified as the mastermind behind the operation. Ponuke was found to be operating a drug trafficking network, which targeted college students in Coimbatore and other parts of Tamil Nadu.
Evie Ponuke’s arrest came when she traveled to meet an associate, Kavonke, an Ugandan national, who was serving time in the Parapana Agrahara jail in Bengaluru. Ponuke was arrested by special forces police in Coimbatore while attempting to coordinate drug deliveries with Kavonke. Investigations revealed that Kavonke, operating from inside the jail, continued to direct the supply chain, relying on Ponuke and other local contacts to distribute methamphetamine and other drugs.
During the interrogation, Evie Ponuke admitted that she had initially come to India to pursue a law degree at a college in Dharwad, Karnataka. However, after failing to complete her studies and letting her visa expire, she stayed in Dharwad, Bengaluru, and other regions, continuing to engage in illegal activities, including drug trafficking. Ponuke communicated with her suppliers and buyers primarily via online platforms, where transactions were coordinated and payments were made through online transfers.
Ponuke further disclosed that David, another Ugandan associate, was also involved in the network. The drugs were delivered to specific locations based on Google Maps coordinates to avoid detection.
This arrest comes on the heels of a successful operation by the Coimbatore Police’s Special Forces team, who had earlier arrested six individuals for methamphetamine possession. In that raid, the police seized 102 grams of methamphetamine from the accused, identified as Gautham, Abhimanyu, Basil, Mohammad Arsid, Ijaz, and Bevin.
The Special Forces had been closely monitoring the rising trend of methamphetamine use among youths in Coimbatore, and the latest arrests are part of an ongoing effort to dismantle drug networks operating in Tamil Nadu. The police have vowed to continue their investigation into this criminal network and are focused on tracking down other individuals involved in the supply and distribution of narcotics.
