Kaduthuruthy: A special excise team seized over 15 kg of ganja from under a cot in the house of a minor person, who is suspected of having stored it there. However, the suspect, a 17-year-old male student, fled from the house before the raid.

The raid took place around 7 pm on Monday at a house located near the railway station in Appanchira, Kaduthuruthy, in Kottayam district. The ganja seized by the team weighed 15.2 kg and would have fetched around ₹15 lakh.

The raid was conducted by a team led by Inspector P G Rajesh, based on a tip-off received by the Enforcement and Anti-Narcotic Special Squad of the Excise in Kottayam. As per the information received by the special squad, the youngster had smuggled a large quantity of ganja to his house for sale during the Onam festival. The informant also said that the transaction was planned for Monday.

The excise had earlier nabbed some friends of the suspect, a student at an institution in Ettumanur, and kept him under observation. Subsequently, the special squad contacted the minor boy over a video call and entered into a deal for a kg of ganja at a price of ₹30,000. But the youngster sensed danger at the last moment and escaped from his house before the excise team arrived.

The youngster had earlier landed in the custody of the excise on at least two occasions for carrying banned substances. He subsequently spent time at a juvenile home and was subjected to counselling. Meanwhile, excise officers have received information that some other youths in the area are also involved in the racket.

The excise team which raided the youngster’s house included inspector Rajesh, special civil excise officers Aju Jospeh, Arun Lal, Deepak Soman, Syam Sasidharan, Arun C Das, Baijumon, Afzal, K V Sabitha and Bibin Joy.