PALAKKAD Excise officers seized 125 kg of ganja worth ₹2 crore from a pickup van at Walayar, near here, on Thursday. The ganja was brought from Visakhapatnam for distribution in Kochi. Four persons were arrested.
Two special squads of the excise worked in tandem to seize the smuggled in ganja on the basis of a tip-off received by Deputy Excise Commissioner Shaji S. Rajan. A car that escorted the pickup was also seized by the excise team.
Those arrested were Vijesh, 31, from Thiruvegappura; Shinoj, 33, from Kannamangalam, Payyanur; Sixson, 31, from Punithara, Kochi; and Rajesh, 42, from Tripunithura, Kochi.
Excise officials said the ganja had been bought from Padayilu, near Visakhapatnam. They said surveillance had been tightened in view of the elections and upcoming Christmas and New Year celebrations.
Inspectorss P.K. Sateesh and A. Shoukathali, preventive officer Mansoor Ali, and civil officers Rajesh S., Austin K.J., Shajuj K.T., Abhilash K., Sruthish G., Biju A., Anil Kumar and G. Sattar were part of the team that seized the ganja.
