Interstate ganja carrier and peddler arrested

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Excise officials on Monday took into custody two people, including a middle-aged woman, at Amaravila check post near Parassala for involving in ganja trade. The officials also seized 1.5kg of ganja from them.
The accused have been identified as Mary (45) of Marthandam in Tamil Nadu and Thankappan Nair (70), residing in the border town of Karakkonam that falls under Kerala region.
The Excise officials said that Mary was a history sheeter, who had several NDPS cases pending against her name in excise and police stations on both sides of the border. She mainly acted as a carrier of ganja. Her modus operandi was to smuggle packets of ganja in inter-state buses. She dressed up as a housewife going for shopping so that nobody suspected her. She carried ganja in polythene bags, which women normally use to carry vegetables and other commodities.
Thankappan Nair supplied the ganja bought from Mary to other peddlers in the district. They were caught red handed during a transaction at Parassala. The ganja belonged to wholesale dealers based in Madurai. The arrest was followed by a tip off received by Excise Inspector R Mohan Kumar. Preventive Officers Mahesh and Ratnakaran were also in the team that made the arrest.
The accused were produced before court and remanded in judicial custody.