19 kg of ganja meant for distribution in coastal belt seized from youth

Kasargod, Feb 6: In a major crackdown on smuggling of narcotic products, Excise sleuths here seized 18.750 kg of ganja and arrested a 30-year-old man on Sunday.

On a tip-off, the Excise personnel, headed by Inspector P.J. Robinbabu, arrested M. Ratheesh, a resident of Neyyattinkara as he got down from a train at Kumbla station around 7 a.m., Excise sources here said.

The arrest was made as the youth, carrying the narcotic product in a suitcase and a handbag, confessed that he was ferrying the product for distribution at the northern border towns of Kumbla, Uppala, Badiyadukka and Bandiyode near Manjeshwaram, they said.

The ganja procured from Andhra Pradesh for Rs. 50,000, was brought here by rail, to be sold through middlemen to pocket Rs. 2 lakh, the man confessed during the interrogation. The officials were now inquiring whether others were involved in the large scale smuggling of the contraband product.

Ratheesh, who had been arrested earlier under the provisions of Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substance (NDPS) Act 20 b II B, was produced before the district session court, and was remanded in custody for two weeks.