CHENNAI: Dismantling a drug peddling network which sourced methamphetamine and ganja from neighbouring states and sold them in Kodungaiyur, the city police arrested six persons, including a history sheeter who spearheaded the network, on Monday.
The arrested persons also include an accountant at a jewellery showroom and a fast food eatery owner.
The anti-narcotics intelligence unit (ANIU) of the city police had received a tip off about a group peddling synthetic drugs, after which police used a decoy to purchase narcotics from them. The police decoy approached one of the accused, B Vinoth Kumar (26), a MBA graduate employed as an accountant and sought to buy meth.
On Vinoth's instructions, his relative, R Santhosh (23), who works as a welder, approached the decoy and handed over four grams of meth after which police detained Vinoth and Santhosh.
The information provided by the duo led the police to the other accused, K Joseph (23) who runs a fast food eatery.
Probe revealed that the main supplier of the drug was K Manikandan (26), a history sheeter with one murder case and 20 other criminal cases against him. Manikandan's associates K Thirupathi (26) and T Salman (19) were arrested from their residence in Madhavaram.
The officials also recovered 54 grams of methamphetamine and 200 grams of ganja from the accused.
"The accused were sourcing the methamphetamine from Bengaluru and Andhra Pradesh. Investigations are under way to find others who are part of their network," said a police officer. The arrested persons were produced before a magistrate and remanded in judicial custody.