Tuticorin (Tamil Nadu): A first in the state, 25 kg of 'charas' (a drug made from ganja) valued at 2.5 crore rupees meant to be smuggled to Sri Lanka, was seized by the Thoothukudi police on Saturday.
Following a series of busts on contraband, the police top brass received a tip-off of a huge consignment of ganja being smuggled into the district. Pursuing the input, vehicle checks were intensified throughout the district.
A duo riding a two-wheeler was intercepted at Avudaiyarkulam Karai in Tiruchendur and the contraband was seized from their possession. The drug was packed in cake form in small bundles of brown paper.
The arrested were identified as Senthil Kumar (43), and Durairaj, (44), both have criminal antecedents and were earlier detained under Goondas act.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the duo was supposed to take the sea route to deliver the same at Nagercoil in neighbouring Kanniyakumari district. The drug would then be smuggled in a country boat through the porous sea route to Sri Lanka.
"These drugs are smuggled through Kerala. There is neither cultivation nor processing of ganja in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. The drug might have been sourced from naxal controlled marijuana cultivation clusters having processing units to convert raw ganja to 'charas'", a senior police official privy to the investigation said.
