90 kg ganja seized in Ernakulam; three West Bengal natives held

Kochi | Police on Sunday seized 90 kg of ganja and arrested three West Bengal natives who were allegedly attempting to smuggle the contraband from Odisha in a car at Pookkattupadi near here.

The accused were identified as Ashiq Iqbal (27) of Jalangi, Murshidabad; Alangir Sardar (25) of Nadia; and Sohail Rana (20) of Saheb Nagar, police said.

They were taken into custody in a joint operation led by the Perumbavoor Assistant Superintendent of Police’s special squad and the Thadiyittaparambu police, based on a tip-off received by Ernakulam Rural Police Chief M Hemalatha.

According to police, the ganja was being transported in a West Bengal-registered car from Odisha to Perumbavoor.

When signalled to stop at Pookkattupadi in the early hours of Sunday, the suspects attempted to flee but were caught after a brief chase.

Preliminary investigations revealed the gang had purchased ganja from Odisha at Rs 2,000 per kg and sold it in Kerala for Rs 25,000-Rs 30,000 per kg.

A police officer said the accused often used byroads after crossing into Kerala to evade checks, and would return to West Bengal after disposing of their stock.

Police said this was among the largest ganja seizures in the district in recent months.

A probe is on to identify their buyers here.

The three were produced in the court and remanded to judicial custody, police added.