Cops on trail of new gang in ganja trade

CHENNAI: There's a new gang in the ganja trade and narcotics intelligence bureau (NIB-CID) officers are on the trail of the smugglers from Ilayankudi, near Madurai, who are said to be sending the contraband abroad as well.
A confession from two men arrested in Chennai for smuggling 250kg of ganja from Paderu hills Andhra Pradesh set the police on the trail of the new gang.A senior NIB-CID officer said this is one of the biggest catches in the recent years in the city. Police have a list of gangs operating in Madurai, Theni and Dindigul. These gangs usually bring cannabis grown in Andhra Pradesh through the state and smuggle it abroad using the sea route.
Red Hills traffic police inspector Periyakaruppan and his team arrested Pandiaraj, 27, and Karthik, 35, both from Madurai, when they were transporting 250kg of ganja in a car on Red Hills-Vadakarai Bypass Road on Thursday. They were carrying the ganja in 45 large cardboard boxes and 75 smaller boxes.
During questioning, they confessed to being hired by two people, Pandian and Karthikeyan of Ilayankudi near Sivaganga. They were paid Rs20,000 to transport the consignment from Paderu near Visakhapatnam. "The names of the smugglers have not entered police records so far. They may be a new gang operating from Ilayankudi. Police teams from Madurai zone of NIB-CID have fanned out in these areas to nab the suspects," an investigation officer said.
Officers have dubbed Madurai, Theni and Dindigul districts the 'Golden Triangle' of the ganja trade in Tamil Nadu, a moniker inspired from the international opium trade. As large quantities of opium is grown in the thick forests on the border of Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia, the area is called the 'Golden Triangle'. That's the name state police have given the southern TN districts that they are now combing.
In Madurai district, a woman named Perumayi dominates the ganja smuggling trade, assisted by her brother Sekar. Similarly, four gangs operate separately in Theni and Dindigul districts. They normally engage trucks to transport consignments from Paderu in Andhra Pradesh.
The truck driver is given a mobile phone number to call once he gets to Paderu. He's given directions to a spot where the truck is loaded. The trucks are escorted by separate cars without the knowledge of the drivers. If the consignment is caught by the police, the escort vehicles abandon them and speed away.
Once they cross the border into Tamil Nadu, the drivers park the trucks with the consignment on the road near Red Hills, Puzhal or Madhavaram and leave the keys behind. Another driver is assigned to take the vehicle and till Theni or Madurai. Again, the truck is parked on the roadside from where the smugglers pick it up later.
Once the consignments reach the Golden Triangle in Tamil Nadu, smugglers process it and pack it neatly into blocks using thick plastic covers. They cross it on to the backs of mules over the Western Ghats and into Kerala.