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Police said they found 116 packets, each weighing 2kg, of marijuana in the vehicle.
The arrested, Muthanikkad Muhammed Haris, 34, is a native of Kuttippuram in Malappuram.
Youth Congress activists, upon learning of the situation, visited the Placherry forest office and discovered the ganja plant grown in a plastic bag within the compound.
They sourced ganja from Bengaluru, for a price of Rs 25000 per kg and sold it at Rs 75,000 per kg in the Kerala market.
The officer valued the marijuana at Rs 15 lakh in the wholesale market and Rs 25 lakh in the retail market.
The officials reportedly confiscated the drugs worth crores after encircling the two cars on the National Highway 544.
The accused told the Excise officers that he has Rs 30 lakhs as fixed deposit.
The contraband was kept hidden in two backpack bags carried by the youth. The substance is valued at around Rs 1.62 lakh.
Sources close to police confirmed that more similar centres will be raided as part of the district-wide crackdown on drugs.
The duo had been under the radar of the excise department for the last few days.