Kingpin of inter-state drug racket arrested from Kerala-Tamil Nadu border; MDMA seized

Wayanad: The alleged kingpin of an inter-state drug trafficking racket, accused of sourcing MDMA from Tamil Nadu and Karnataka and supplying it to youngsters in Wayanad and neighbouring districts, had been arrested. 

The accused, Venugopal (35) of Thannikkal House, Munderi near Kalpetta, was arrested by the Ambalavayal Police and the District-Level Anti-Narcotics Special Action Force (DANSAF).

The police seized 124.39 grams of MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine), a synthetic psychotropic substance whose possession and trafficking attract stringent punishment under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.

Under the NDPS Act, possession of 10 grams or more of MDMA is classified as a commercial quantity, carrying severe penalties upon conviction.

According to investigators, Venugopal is a habitual drug trafficker involved in multiple narcotics cases. Police said he had earlier been convicted in one drug-related case and was released from prison only recently. Following his release, he resumed drug trafficking by procuring MDMA from neighbouring states and distributing it through a network operating across northern Kerala.

The police suspect that several other traffickers are linked to the racket. While some members of the network are yet to be arrested, many have already been identified and are under police surveillance.

Venugopal was arrested on Sunday while entering Kerala from Tamil Nadu on a motorcycle through Kottoor, a lesser-used border route. The motorcycle, used to transport the contraband, was also seized. According to investigators, the MDMA recovered from him has an estimated street value of around ₹10 lakh in Kerala.

The First Information Report (FIR) states that he deliberately avoided major highways and official border checkpoints by travelling through an interior route where vehicle inspections are infrequent. During the search, officers recovered the contraband concealed in the pocket of his trousers.

Ambalavayal Station House Officer Fayiz Ali told Onmanorama that Venugopal had been under surveillance since his release from prison. "We had been tracking his movements after his release from prison. He had been spotted at several suspected drug trafficking locations, and our surveillance eventually led to his arrest," the officer said.

The operation was carried out by a team comprising Sub-Inspectors M Raveendran and V J Eldho, Additional Sub-Inspector Sanal, Civil Police Officer Muhammed Ansari and personnel from the District-Level Anti-Narcotics Rapid Action Force (DANSAF).

The accused was later produced before the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court in Sulthan Bathery, which remanded him to 14 days in judicial custody.

The seizure comes amid intensified anti-narcotics enforcement under Operation Toofan, a statewide crackdown on drug trafficking. With surveillance tightened on major highways and border checkpoints, investigators say traffickers are increasingly using remote village roads, interior border routes and even forest footpaths along the Kerala-Tamil Nadu and Kerala-Karnataka borders to smuggle narcotics into the state.

Officials said intelligence gathering and surveillance would continue to identify and dismantle the remaining members of the network and curb the spread of synthetic drugs among the youth.