2 nabbed while smuggling ganja in ambulance in Coimbatore

COIMBATORE: The prohibition enforcement wing (PEW) of the Coimbatore city police on Sunday arrested two persons who were smuggling 21 kg of ganja in an ambulance to evade surveillance.

Acting on a tip-off, the police arrested the two accused — A Manikandan, 28, of Peelamedu in Coimbatore and Veerachinnamaruthu, 28, of Manamadurai in Sivaganga district — on the Ukkadam-Valankulam flyover.

According to the police, Manikandan, a narcotics smuggler facing multiple cases in Coimbatore and Hosur (Krishnagiri), approached his friend Veerachinnamaruthu, who is an ambulance driver, with a plan to use the emergency vehicle for transporting ganja. Veerachinnamaruthu is an accused in a theft case, said the police.

After law enforcement forces intensified vigil against drugs and rigorously started checking buses, trains and other vehicles, Manikandan and Veerachinnamaruthu decided to bring the ganja they purchased from Andhra Pradesh to Coimbatore by ambulance. They believed an ambulance would give them easy passage through toll plazas without delay and would also be less likely to be intercepted for police checks.

Both accused were produced before a court and remanded in judicial custody. Further investigations are on to crack down on their network.