Kochi police seize car hidden with 175 kg of ganja worth Rs 50 lakh

Kochi: An intense investigation is underway to track down the drug mafia that fled after hiding a large quantity of ganja in a car at Palluruthy here. The probe is centred around the drug operators in Fort Kochi. It has been identified that a youth, previously held in drug cases, had taken the vehicle on lease.

The car with 175 kg of ganja was spotted on the largely deserted Madhuram Company Road. Police are sure that this was done by people who have definite knowledge about the place. It is inferred that the people connected with the drug mafia members who were arrested the other day at Ambalamedu are behind this. The gang, led by a notorious goon from Kollam, Boxer Dileep, was arrested the other day.

This gang has been bringing hundreds of loads of ganja from Orissa in goods lorries and distributing them in Kochi. The ganja thus brought in lorries is stopped at deserted places on the highways and then transferred to cars and distributed to different places. Police suspect a bid to hide the ganja in the seized car in the aftermath of the arrest of Boxer Dileep and the gang as they feared their subsequent arrest. Police have found that another three-member gang that arrived in another car on Friday morning transferred the ganja lot to this car. The seized ganja is worth over Rs 50 lakh.

It is learned that the car was taken on lease from a Kannur native after planning the drug smuggling meticulously. It is suspected that their idea was to transfer the ganja later from the car. When the car owner could not get in touch with the people who took it on lease, he started searching for the car. And this search led to one of the biggest seizures in recent times in Kochi.