258 kg ganja seized, four Keralites held

Superintendent of Police V Baskaran said acting on specific inputs, a special police team led by Sub Inspector Sakthivel, intercepted two cars on the Varushanadu Main Road on Saturday night. The occupants of the cars attacked the police team and attempted to flee. 

However, after a hot chase, the police team caught the two cars and arrested four occupants from Kerala, identified as Prasad (27), Lipin (27), Ajith (21) and Jahana (26). The police team seized Ganja packed in 19 packets, each weighing two kg from them. Based on their confession, another police team raided a farm owned by a notorious narcotic smuggler Murugan (42) at Karattupatti and seized Ganja kept in 110 packets, each weighing two kg. 

The Ganja was hoarded in a shed in the farm. A search is on to arrest Murugan and his associate, who were absconding. Baskaran said the Kerala-based drug peddlers had been procuring Ganja from Murugan and smuggling it to Kerala via Theni district. 

Murugan is reportedly acquiring Ganja from Andhra Pradesh. Further investigations were on to find out the Andhrabased network of narcotic peddlers. A total of 27 persons were detained under the Goondas Act in Theni district last year, of them 18 were Ganja smugglers. Four persons were detained under the Act till February this year, three of them were Ganja smugglers, he added.