Thiruvananthapuram: The Excise Department, which seized ganja weighing 100 kg from an SUV at Kannettumukku, told the media that it suspects a big racket is behind the arrested gang. The Excise had arrested four persons including a former SFI leader from the vehicle along with a huge haul of ganja. A woman and two children had escaped.
According to reports, the gang had taken the vehicle for rent on the pretext of a family trip to Kannyakumari. When the owner of the SUV examined the GPS, he found that the vehicle was at Andhra Pradesh. Getting suspicious, he informed the Excise. Following this, the Excise officers caught four persons, while they reached Kannettumukku after crossing Kerala border.
Six ATMs and seven mobile phones have been seized from the accused. The mobile phones have been sent for forensic examination to identify the dealers. The Excise department has asked the concerned banks to check the money flow from the accounts of the ATM cards.
All the accused are from poor families and it is not clear how the gang was able to pay for the 100 kg ganja, which costs up to Rs.2 lakhs. The Excise department is investigating who had paid the money for the substance. The price of ganja smuggled into Kerala will fetch up to 10 times higher price.
Former SFI leader, Akhil, who was arrested by Excise department, told that he was former SFI unit president of Vanchiyoor Sanskrit Unit and said that he is living on rent at Jagathy. He denied his involvement and said that he had come to buy rice from the shop.
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