Kozhikode: In two separate drug busts on Sunday, the police seized 778 grams of MDMA and 28 kilograms of ganja in the city. Three, including a West Bengal native, were taken into custody.

In the first operation, police arrested Chamaparambil Shaji (30), a resident of Kalamassery, Ernakulam, and Mominul Malitha (26) from Murshidabad, West Bengal, with 28 kilograms of ganja, valued at Rs 11 lakh. They were apprehended at the Mofussil Bus Stand in Kozhikode at 6.30 am after arriving from Bengaluru. The Kasaba police and DANSAF team led the operation.

According to police, the accused had procured the ganja from Odisha, transported it to Bengaluru, and then travelled to Kozhikode by tourist bus. They were intercepted while attempting to board a bus to Perumbavoor.

"They travelled from Odisha to Bengaluru by train to evade checking. Their plan was to distribute the ganja in Perumbavoor and Kalamassery. The duo, who worked as painters in Perumbavoor, used their profession as a cover for drug trafficking," police officials said.

In another major operation, the police arrested Kannanariparamb Siraj (31), a Malappuram native, near Annie Hall Road in Kozhikode, with 778 grams of MDMA, worth Rs 30 lakh in the street market. He had smuggled the drugs from Delhi and arrived in Kozhikode by train.

Police revealed that Siraj is a key member of a gang operating between Goa and Delhi, with multiple cases registered against him in Himachal Pradesh for possession of MDMA, LSD, and drug tablets. "Siraj had a unique smuggling method to evade police checks. He hides the drugs in the bathroom of an AC coach on a train departing from New Delhi and passing through Goa. He would then fly to Goa, board the same train before it reached his destination, and retrieve the drugs before getting off," police officials said.

The operations were led by Kasaba Sub-Inspectors R Jagmohan and Sajith Mon, Town Sub-Inspectors K Muraleedharan and Shabeer, and DANSAF Sub-Inspectors Manoj Edayedath and K Abdu Rahman. Further investigations are underway.