Kochi: Over six months since the excise and customs officials seized MDMA worth over Rs 13 crore from Kakkanad, the prime accused has been nabbed.
Shamsuddeen Sait (56) of Tondiarpet, Chennai was arrested from a hideout in Madurai on Tuesday evening. A team of Tamil Nadu special branch and local police had made the arrest.
In the sensational case from last August, over a kilo of MDMA, also known as ecstasy, was seized from a rented apartment at Kakkanad.
A team led by assistant excise commissioner TM Kasim had arrested 19 persons. However, Sait, who was identified as the wholesale dealer, had been absconding.
The investigators tracking the bank accounts of Sait had figured out that he was the kingpin, who had supplied drugs to the group that was arrested in Kochi.
On the run
Since going into hiding, Sait had constantly been on the move, staying for over two weeks at Karaikal and Nagore.
Later, he moved to a relative's house at Madurai. Excise crime branch joint commissioner Nelson received a tip about Sait's hideout, which was narrowed to Sakkimangalam by tracing mobile phone tower location.
Travels with family
It is understood that Sait used to travel with his wife and daughter as he evaded arrest. They reportedly used a van to move around.
The local police surrounded the hideout and it is understood that a few local women tried to mislead the cops by directing them away from Sait's actual location.
However, the cops raided the premises and arrested Sait, who has been brought to Kochi and remanded.
