The State Excise Enforcement Squad on Wednesday seized 13.5 kg of ganja from Karukutty near Parassala in the district.
The squad has arrested a man hailing from Vellarada in the district who was on his way to distribute the ganja, smuggled into Kerala via a courier service, Excise officials said. The squad had acted on a tip-off received by Excise Circle Inspector T. Anikumar, the head of the State Excise Enforcement Squad.
The man, identified as Abhayan, is a key link in the ganja distribution chain in Thiruvananthapuram district, they said. Excise officials are on the look-out for another suspect from Vellarada who smuggles ganja packets into the State via courier services from Andhra Pradesh.
Ganja smugglers are resorting to a new ploy to get the consignments into the State, according to the squad. The packets are addressed to various people without their knowledge.
Courier
The gang members then pose as their representatives and collect the packets from the offices of the courier services.
The squad which made the arrest included Excise Circle Inspector G. Krishnakumar, Excise Inspectors T. R. Mukesh Kumar and S. Madhusoodanan Nair, preventive officers and civil excise officers.
