600 kg ganja seized from couple in Coimbatore

The accused C. Ravi (40) of Kamaraj Nagar in Kavundampalayam in the city and his wife R. Thenmozhi (35) stocked the contraband substance in 24 gunny bags. Each bag weighing 25 kg was stocked in two houses they had taken on rent near Sulur. This is the biggest seizure of the contraband substance from a distribution point in this region, where drug peddling was very high near education institutions. Over the years, Coimbatore city and district police have arrested individuals involved in ganja peddling to college students and close to slums.

“In the past we have arrested and even detained many drug peddlers under the Goondas Act. But we could not get close to the dealer. Efforts are on to get names of their competitors in the illegal business, suppliers and transporters as well,” Superintendent of Police of Coimbatore District R.V. Ramya Bharati told DTNext. On the mass seizure, she said they conducted a surprise check in the two houses based on a tip-off from a woman caller. 

“We watched the two houses for two days before conducting the raid shortly after midnight on Wednesday,” the SP said. According to the police, Thenmozhi is the sister-inlaw of the notorious ganja peddler Chokkan of Thudiyalur in Coimbatore. He introduced Thenmozhi to the business, a few years ago. She was booked five times by the Narcotics Intelligence Bureau (NIB) CID police and by the Thudiyalur Police twice for selling ganja in lesser quantities of close to a kilogram. 

Thenmozhi and Ravi hired a house at Vishnu Nagar in Pattanam near Sulur at the outskirts of the city and another house at Sri Andal Home Avenue in Pattanampudur, near Sulur for Rs. 12,000. They hired one of the houses a year ago, and another about six months ago. They preferred a house at the outskirts as it was easier to stay away from the police and to transport the items.

They told neighbours that they were into grocery business and would be coming home only in the odd hours. Inquiry revealed that they bought the ganja from Shiva of Usilampatti in Madurai District, who brought it from Andhra Pradesh. They transported the contraband item by hiding it beneath vegetable loads. The couple sold it in Coimbatore, Tirupur and Erode through more than a dozen sellers. “Four special teams have been formed to nab the network. A special team is on the lookout for Shiva. Three other teams are trying to nab more than a dozen distributors and sellers through whom the couple sold the contraband item to addicts,” Ms. Ramya Bharati added. Sulur Police have registered the case and it would soon be transferred to the NIB CID police.