Kozhikode: Three years since he gave law enforcement the slip, a drug dealer who goes by the assumed name of 'Escobar' in his circles, was nabbed by a team of Kozhikode Police from Bengaluru.
Korani Vayal Anagesh, 24, from Puthiyangadi in Kozhikode, was arrested from a hideout at Bommanahalli in Bengaluru by a unit of the Chevayur Police and a Special Action Group under Kozhikode Deputy Commissioner KE Baiju.
The Kozhikode Police had been tracking Anagesh since he managed to escape during a ganja raid at Paroppadi in the city here on November 17, 2020. Four of his accomplices were nabbed that day, but Anagesh got away.
The police said they had confiscated his bike from Kozhikode after the raid at Paroppadi, but he managed to get it released by changing the ownership to his brother's name.
According to the city police, Anagesh is a key member of a drug racket with a significant presence in south India. He was called 'Escobar', after the infamous Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar, and had that nickname on caller-identification apps, said the Kozhikode Police.
Malayali partner in Bengaluru
A few months ago, the police received information that he was in Bengaluru, but once again he managed to escape by abandoning his car.
After his arrest, Anagesh told the police that he was constantly on the move; first in Tirupati, then Mumbai and Himachal Pradesh. A few days ago he was back in Bengaluru and the Kozhikode Police sprung into action again.
“Anagesh ran his operations out of Bengaluru but kept changing his hideouts and had informers tip him about the presence of cops,” said Nimin, Principal SI with the Chevayur Police.
During their probe, the cops learned that he was in a live-in relationship with a Malayali woman at RV Nagar. The Kozhikode Police built a rapport with the people of the locality to help track down Anagesh.
The arrest was made by a team led by Chevayur SHO Agesh. Principal SI, Nimin, Sub Inspector O Mohandas from the special squad, Assistant Sub Inspector Saji from Chevayur PS and Skylesh of the Cyber Cell were also part of the team.
