Kozhikode: In a major anti-narcotics operation, the DANSAF team under the rural SP Farash T arrested two persons, including a woman, with a large quantity of MDMA allegedly brought for sale.

The accused have been identified as Mohammed Haneefa P (36), a native of Poolappoyil, Mukkam, and Reihanath (45), a resident of Beypore. They were arrested from two different locations within the Mukkam police station limits, said police.

Mohammed Haneefa was arrested in the early hours of Thursday in Agasthyamoozhi, near the Civil Station in Mukkam, with 517 grams of MDMA. Police said he had travelled to Delhi five days ago along with the woman to procure the material and was taken into custody while attempting to sell it after returning.

Acting on intelligence that the duo had jointly sourced the contraband, the DANSAF team launched a coordinated operation that led to their arrest. A subsequent raid at a house rented by Haneefa in Poolappoyil—where he had been operating for the past six months—resulted in the seizure of an additional 2.286 kilograms of MDMA.

Police sources said Haneefa is believed to be one of the major drug traffickers in the state, regularly sourcing MDMA from Delhi and Bengaluru. He frequently travelled by flight from Kozhikode to Delhi and returned by train as part of his operations. Investigators had been closely monitoring Reihanath’s movements and found that she often stayed at the rented house used by Haneefa, which led to the raid and further seizures.

During the search, police recovered a currency counting machine, multiple digital weighing scales, and packing materials used for drug distribution. Haneefa, who also runs a restaurant in Poolappoyil, is suspected of having amassed significant wealth in recent times through drug trafficking.

Police said Reihanath was allegedly recruited by Haneefa with the promise of a small payment to assist in the activities. The operation was carried out under the supervision of Narcotics Cell DySP Uthamdas and Thamarassery DySP Vinod Kumar.