Ernakulam drug arrests increased during Operation Toofan, with six people taken into custody and narcotics seized in raids across Cheengamanad, Njarakkal, Binanipuram and Kuruppampady in Ernakulam Rural district. Police also found three cannabis plants on the premises of an unoccupied house in Ayyampuzha as the district-wide operation continued into Saturday night.
The searches began in the early hours under the leadership of Ernakulam Rural District Police Chief K S Sudarshan. Police conducted raids, vehicle inspections and checks linked to the sale and transportation of narcotic substances, according to a report by Malayala Manorama.
At Cheengamanad, police arrested Ibrahim, 37, of Koottungapparambil house in Karumaloor Thadikkadavu, and Binu Antony, 37, of Meppan house in Karumaloor Valiyappanpady. The two were allegedly carrying synthetic drugs in small zip-lock covers for sale. Police took them into custody while they were in a car parked in the Parambayam area, with the substance reportedly concealed in a trouser pocket.
In the Njarakkal police station limits, officers seized 3.450 grams of MDMA from Athin, 25, a resident of Thoombungal house in Valiyathparambil, Nayarambalam. According to the report, he was travelling as a passenger in an autorickshaw in the Kaalamukku area when police found the drug in two zip-lock covers kept inside his bag.
Two more people, identified as Muhammad Salikh, 34, of Chennampilly house in Edayar, Binanipuram, and Abdul Muhad, 34, of Kelanteparambil house in Eramam, were arrested in Edayar with three grams of MDMA. Police reportedly recovered the substance from a specially wrapped cover kept in a cupboard at Salikh’s house. The report said investigators identified Muhad as the person who supplied the drug to Salikh.
Kuruppampady police arrested Saddam Hussain, 25, a native of Nagaon in Assam, with heroin. The substance was reportedly found in a soapbox at the house where he was staying near Manaykkappady Puthooram junction.
Police also detained one person in Perumbavoor with 4.5 grams of cannabis. In a separate discovery, officers found three cannabis plants in the compound of an unoccupied house near the Post Office Junction in Ayyampuzha.
The operation has also led to several other people being taken into custody for questioning, the report said, although the identities and specific allegations involving those individuals were not detailed. Vehicle inspections were continuing alongside the raids, with the wider operation scheduled to remain active through Saturday night.
