Kerala Police knew about Anoop's link to Bengaluru drug racket in 2015

Kochi: The Kerala Police had confidential information as far back as 2015 that the Bengaluru drugs racket linked to Anoop Mohammad and which was uncovered recently, distributed large quantities of chemical drugs in the state. The police, however, concealed the information.

Mithun C Vilas, a disk jockey (DJ) who was arrested in a drugs case on May 26, 2015, in Kochi, had given details of Anoop’s links to the drug racket, but the police team that was investigating the case then hid the details.

Anoop, a Kochi native, along with two accomplices Rijesh Ravindran of Thrissur and Kannada TV serial actor Anikha D, was arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau in Bengaluru on August 21.

Mithun had told the police five years ago that Anoop's gang supplied large quantities of chemical drugs, including LSD, besides cocaine, to night parties in Kerala. When Mithun revealed a few other names, an investigating official got angry and beat him up. He later signed the statement prepared by the investigating officer.

Mithun was arrested from a night party. Anoop’s gang leader learnt through information leaked to him that Mithun had named its members. He called Mithun, who was in police custody, on the investigating official’s phone and threatened to kill him for revealing the names, the Central Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has learnt during its investigations into the Bengaluru case.

Rijesh Raveendran has told the NCB that he was introduced to Anoop by his friends Mithun, who was also known as 'DJ Kokkachi’, and Hakim. He said it was during the New Year celebrations in Goa in 2015 that he first met Anoop, who was with Mithun and Hakim. It was after this meeting that he became a member of the racket that supplied drugs in large quantities from Goa to Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, Rijesh told the NCB.

With Rijesh mentioning his name during interrogation, Kochi native Mithun will soon be questioned by the NCB investigating the Bengaluru case.