Journo among 5 arrested for drug peddling in Chennai

CHENNAI: Avadi city police on Wednesday arrested five persons, including a media person, from Porur and seized 23.2 kg of ganja, 0.72 grams of LSD stamps, 0.89 gm of MDMA, 0.57 gm of unspecified white crystal, 11 gms of charas and 30 ecstasy pills from them.

The arrested were identified as Vinoth Kumar of Thiruverkadu, the mastermind who runs a Tamil magazine, Devaraj of Thiruverkadu, Balaji of NSK Nagar, Praveen Kumar from Seven Wells and Surya of Moolakadai.

As the part of ongoing drugs raid conducted in Avadi Police Commissionerate on the theme of "Drug Free Tamil Nadu", a special party of the commissionerate nabbed Praveen and Surya from Porur with 3 kg of ganja.

When questioned the two spilled the beans and led the police to the other three.

Police said that the gang indulged in sale of ganja by hiring a private container lorry and used the lorry as courier service vehicle to purchase Ganja from Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. The gang confessed that they purchased LSD stamps, Meth 30 grams, Ecstasy pills-30 from Bangalore, Pondicherry and from Nigerian Nationals.

Vinoth Kumar prepared identity cards in the name of the magazine and used them while travelling to divert the attention of the police. He also used an identity card of a political party claiming to be the IT wing head of the party.

Apart from the narcotics items police seized one two-wheeler and three 4-wheelers from the accused. The vehicles were used for transporting ganja. All the accused were arrested and produced before the judicial magistrate Poonamalee and remanded in judicial custody. Police have also taken steps to freeze the bank account of these 5 accused.