Gang caught with MDMA worth more than Rs 15 lakh

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A major drug trafficking gang has been arrested by the Thiruvananthapuram Rural Dansaf team on Friday. The four-member group was caught with 308 grams of MDMA, worth over `15 lakh in the market. The drugs were seized after two rounds of checking. Initially, 175 grams of MDMA was found hidden on one of the accused, a woman, during a body search. On further inspection, 133 grams more was found. The group had been under secret surveillance for some time. Those arrested are Shami, 32, from Chadayamangalam in Kollam, Muhammed Kalfan 24, Ashiq, 20, and Al Ameen, 23, all from Kaniyapuram. They were nabbed at Chenkavila near Pozhiyoor by the Dansaf team with the help of Pozhiyoor police. The car they were travelling in was also seized. The gang had brought the MDMA from Bengaluru. They were actively involved in drug trade across Thiruvananthapuram and Kollam The gang used rented cars and posed as families on leisure trips to smuggle drugs into Kerala. Small packets of MDMA were hidden in the womans dress. This method helped them avoid checks in other states. Rural District Police Chief K S Sudarshan received a tip-off that a group led by a woman was bringing drugs from Bengaluru. Following this, special police surveillance was set up along the state border. When the group saw the police, they tried to escape through a side road but were caught after a chase. This is a major racket, and we believe more individuals are involved. Further arrests are likely in the coming days. The group is understood to have been supplying drugs in areas including Technopark and Varkala. They have been under our surveillance for the past six months, said Sudarshan. The operation was led by a team including DYSP P K Pradeep of the Narcotics Cell, DYSP Chandradas of Neyyattinkara, Pooziyoor police inspector S P Sujith, Dansaf sub-inspectors F Fayas, Rasal Raj, B Dileep, Prem Kumar, Rajeevan, and police officers Aneesh, Arun, Riyas, Padmakumar, Sunilraj, and female police personnel Sajitha and Asha. Meanwhile, as part of Operation D-Hunt, 1,574 individuals were examined and 57 cases for possession of various narcotics were registered. As many as 59 people were arrested. Seizures during the operation included MDMA weighing 0.044 kg, 2.222 kg of cannabis and 36 cannabis beedis.