Kerala: 3 held with 17 kg hashish oil

Kochi: A team of the Idukki police has arrested three including a lawyer with 17 kg hashish oil worth Rs 17 to 20 crore in the international market from Kattappana in the district on Sunday. They trapped the gang after a month-long surveillance. District police chief K.B. Venugopal led the operation. 

The arrested were Adv Biju, Anjumon and Shino John, belonging to Nedumkandam. The first accused Abin D., a former employee of a cooperative bank, managed to evade the arrest.

A team headed by Kattappana DySP N.C. Rajamohan arrested them in an early morning operation. They laid a trap by acting as potential buyers and lured them to Kattappana Sunday morning.

On the source of the high-value drug, cops said the matter is still under investigation.

“We needed to conduct a detailed interrogation of the arrested for getting the information about the source of the narcotics and its potential customers,” Mr Rajmohan said. 

This is one of the biggest hauls of the hashish oil in the district. Police suspects the narcotic amassed in such a huge quantity with the intention of supplying to buyers abroad to get the maximum value. 

The suspects reached the spot around 4 am. Anjomon, the third accused, is a Siva Sena leader whom the local leadership claimed to have expelled six months ago. 

The police said it was verifying their antecedents including the political affiliation if any.