Three members of a drug peddlers' gang including the kingpin were arrested by excise officials at Walayar and 1,000 kg of marijuana was seized from their possession.
Palakkad deputy excise commissioner Shaji S Rajan said the seized marijuana is worth Rs 100 crore in the international drug market. He claimed that this was the biggest seizure of marijuana in the country.
The arrested persons have been identified as Malappuram natives N Badusha, 26, Fayaz Hamid,21 and B Jishhnu, 24, of Udumbanchola. The gang members landed in excise net during the special checking drive along the interstate border at Walayar.
The marijuana was being brought from Vishakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh to a secret hideout in Kochi. It was neatly stuffed in nine secret shelves under the unloaded lorry.
During the questioning by assistant excise commissioner S Rameshan, the accused disclosed that such a huge quantity of marijuana was being smuggled into Kerala anticipating Covid-related lockdown in the state.
