After a brief period of inactivity, drug traffickers are once again active in Ernakulam, with nearly 34kg of ganja seized in two separate operations on Sunday.
In the first case, a special investigation team led by Perumbavoor ASP Shakti Singh Arya and Kuruppampady police arrested two men from Murshidabad, West Bengal—Khalil Mandal (41) and S K Sameem (26)—with 18kg of ganja.
Acting on confidential information provided by district police chief M Hemalatha, the accused were apprehended near a bar in the Odakkali Panichayam area, while allegedly waiting for customers. According to the police, Sameem had transported the ganja by train from Bengal, arriving Saturday morning. Mandal, who had previously worked as a construction laborer in Panichayam, assisted in selling the cannabis for Rs25,000 per kilogram.
An investigation has been launched to identify and trace the buyers involved.
The team included Inspector V M Kurson, SI Ibrahimkutty, ASI P A Abdul Manaf, and senior CPOs Varghese T Venatt, T A Afsal, Benny Isaac, E M Rajesh Arun, and Jijo.
In a parallel operation, Kochi city police arrested two more West Bengal natives near FACT in Eloor with 16kg of ganja, further exposing a pattern of drug trafficking links between West Bengal and Kerala.
Investigations in both cases are ongoing to uncover the full network.
