Date:13/10/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/10/13/stories/2008101351050300.htm

Kerala - Kozhikode

Sale of ganja: one arrested

Staff Reporter

KOZHIKODE: The Nadakkavu police have arrested P.T. Aboobakker alias Abukka and reportedly recovered seven kilograms of ganja from him. He was carrying the stuff in a scooter near the West Hill barracks here on Saturday, the police said.

A team led by Circle Inspector, Nadakkavu, A. Sreeraj arrested Aboobakker, 52, of Thiruthiyadvayalu in Chalappuram in the city, following a tip-off received by Assistant Commissioner (north) C.M. Pradeep Kumar, they said. The arrested person is believed to be one of the wholesale agents selling ganja to sub-agents in the districts in parts like Mukkam, Koduvally and Koyilandy after procuring the stuff from Idukki. A police team’s attempts to trap a dealer in ganja from Idukki recently drew a nought as the latter got a wind of it and escaped.

The stuff procured from Idukki at Rs.6,000 a kg is reportedly sold at Rs.15,000 per kg in the district. The arrested person had been operating from a rented house in Thiruvannur.

The arrested had served a two-and-a-half-year jail term in a ganja case in 1997. He was remanded in judicial custody by the Special Judge, Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Court, Vadakara on Sunday.