CHENNAI: A 25-year-old tattoo artist was arrested for selling ganja and painkiller tablets near a subway in Saidapet, following a surveillance operation by the Adyar Prohibition Enforcement Wing (PEW).

Based on a tip-off, a special team apprehended a youth loitering suspiciously near Pavalavannan subway and questioned him.

On checking his bag, police found 3 kg of ganja and 104 painkiller tablets, and arrested him. The arrested person was identified as Diwakar. Probe revealed that he was a tattoo artist and sold narcotic substances to his customers.

During interrogation, he told police that he had been procuring the substances from Bengaluru and Mumbai, and selling them in Chennai. Investigations revealed that Diwakar has two similar cases pending against him. He was produced before a magistrate and remanded to judicial custody.