CHENNAI: In a major drug bust, officers from the Chennai unit of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) seized 590 kg of ganja near Gummidipoondi in Tiruvallur on Sunday and arrested six persons. The ganja was intended to be smuggled abroad, said officials, adding that the value of the seized contraband was estimated to be around Rs 3 crore.
The bureau received a tip-off that a large quantity of ganja was being smuggled into Tamil Nadu from another State on two cars. The officers went on alert and intercepted two cars. The occupants in the vehicles were evasive in their replies, after which the personnel made them get out of the vehicle and checked the vehicles, leading to the seizure of the ganja.
The arrested persons were identified as S Ramanathan (36), T Alex Pandi (29), Sheikh Abdullah, and Kamarudeen (31) from Pudukkottai, P Vinoth (36) of Thanjavur, and C Manikandan (35) and G Bharathi (32) from Coimbatore.
"Preliminary investigations indicate that the arrested individuals are part of a larger syndicate involved in the international and inter-State trafficking of ganja. Further investigations are under way to identify and apprehend additional members of the syndicate," said an official statement from NCB.
Urging the public to join its effort to eradicate the menace of narcotics to ensure a drug-free India, the bureau said anyone who has information on drug trafficking may alert it confidentially by calling the MANAS toll-free number 1933. The identity of the informer will be kept a secret, it added.