Kozhikode: A drug peddler, who used to engage in buffalo trading and second hand car business as an easy way to smuggle drugs, was held in Ramanattukara in Kozhikode district along with his accomplice on Wednesday.

The police seized 298 grams of MDMA from the duo, which was aimed at students and youngsters from Feroke and Ramanattukara.

Punathil Vayal C V Mohammed Navas (28), who hails from Kuttiyil Thazham in Pokkunnu, and his accomplice T Imthyas Thottummarath (30), an wuto driver from Kulangarapeedika in Pokkunnu, were nabbed by the City DANSAF team and the Feroke police.

They were held while traveling in a Maharashtra-registered car near Ramanattukara. On seeing the police, the duo tried to run away, but the police team nabbed them near the flyover and checked their vehicle.

According to the police, Navas was known as a businessman in his native place. “He was one of the main peddlers of a gang who bought drugs from cities like Delhi and Bengaluru. Navas used to transport buffalos and second hand cars from neighbouring states for sale and smuggled drugs along with that,” the police said.

Navas took a different accomplice along for each trip.

Narcotic Cell Assistant Commissioner K A Bose, who leads the DANSAF, informed that the police got hints about Navas' gang and will conduct a probe for them. He also said that the DANSAF and the district police jointly held 11 culprits in connection with six drug-related cases within three weeks.