The Excise Enforcement and Anti-Narcotic Special Squad, which arrested three persons, including Malayalam film directors Khalid Rahman and Ashraf Hamza, has sought the assistance of the cyber-cell to track down the supplier. The officials said that they have received strong leads about the involvement of a dealer.

"We have identified the person. We understand that he sourced hybrid ganja and sold it to Shalif Muhammad, who is the third accused in the case. He is a key link who supplies drugs to some of the buyers in the Malayalam film industry. We are tracking him with the assistance of cyber-cell," an Excise official associated with the probe told Onmanorama.

According to the officials, nabbing the dealer who is the main suspect will give vital information on the suppliers of hybrid ganja. "It's very costly and we suspect the operation of a gang in shelling out huge money to source hybrid ganja from outside the country and then selling it to selected clients, especially those in the film industry," the official said.

Khalid Rahman, Ashraf Hamza and Shalif Muhammad were let off on station bail after collecting blood samples. Deputy Excise Commissioner T M Maju said that they will be questioned again. "We need to know if they are regular users and, if so, where they sourced the drugs from. Results of their samples are being awaited," he said.