Kochi: The Excise officials in the wee hours of Sunday arrested three, including Malayalam film director Khalid Rahman, and seized 1.63 gm of hybrid ganja from them at a flat here. Manaorama News reported that they were released on station bail around 5.30 am. Another film director, Ashraf Hamza, who is known for movies 'Thamaasha'  and 'Bheemante Vazhi' and Shalif Muhammad, a friend of the directors, are the other two arrested from the flat.

The Excise sleuths raided the flat around 2 am on Sunday. An official from the excise team, who carried out the raid, told Onmanorama that cinematographer Sameer Thahir had rented the flat.

“We took the three into custody from a flat in Kochi and seized the hybrid ganja. A case is registered against them under sections 20(b) (II) A and 29 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985,” said the official at the Excise squad office in Ernakulam.

Excise inspector KP Pramod told Manorama News that the trio nabbed from the flat are regular drug users. The directors and their friend had reached the flat for discussions related to a movie, he added.

“We nabbed them from flat 506 of Purva Grandbay in Kochi. When we raided the flat, they were preparing to consume the ganja. After interrogating them, we confirmed that the three persons had been using ganja for a long time. We are yet to confirm who owned the flat,” said the official. 

He added that the trio were released on station bail as only 1.5 gm of ganja was seized from them. However, a detailed probe will be conducted to identify the source of the hybrid ganja, he said.

Khalid Rahman is the director of several hit films such as 'Anuraga Karikkinvellam', 'Unda', and 'Thallumala'. His latest movie 'Alappuzha Gymkhana' is currently running successfully in theatres.

With the arrest of the directors, the alleged drug abuse in the Malayalam film industry is back in the spotlight. Recently, Malayalam film actor Shine Tom Chacko was arrested in a narcotics case after he made a cinematic escape from a hotel when a DANSAF team reached there for a raid. He was later released on station bail after interrogation and medical examination.