Kochi/Bhubaneswar: In a major drug haul, the Kerala Excise Department Sunday seized 110 kg of ganja and arrested four people from Angamaly near here, officials said. The accused hail from Odisha.
According to the Excise Department, the contraband was seized during a targeted anti-narcotics operation carried out by the Angamaly Excise Range.
Officials alleged that the accused were involved in smuggling ganja into Kerala from Odisha.
According to the Excise Department, the accused travelled by a long-distance train up to Palakkad and then switched to passenger and MEMU trains, where inspections are comparatively less frequent, to avoid detection.
They allegedly got down at smaller railway stations before transporting the contraband to distribution points.
The Excise team intercepted the accused near Angamaly railway station and recovered ganja concealed in several large packets, officials said.
Excise officials described it as one of the biggest ganja seizures in Ernakulam district in recent months.
A detailed investigation is underway to trace the supply chain and identify others linked to the interstate drug trafficking network, officials said.
The accused were booked under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, produced before the jurisdictional court and remanded in judicial custody.
