THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The recent seizure of hashish oil from an inter-state gang in Thiruvananthapuram reinforced a curious trend. During the course of the probe, the Excise intelligence wing found out that Idukki natives, who have expertise in ganja cultivation and hashish oil extraction, are now working in the ganja fields of Odisha and Andhra Pradesh.
The ‘brain drain’ has been going on for some time, but rose exponentially after the state adopted a zero-tolerance policy towards ganja cultivation in the high ranges. The probe team had noticed this trend while investigating two prominent hashish oil seizures in the capital district. The most recent arrests of two people hailing from Thankamani in Idukki while ferrying 6.4 kg of hashish oil helped the top echelons of the police and Excise departments get apprised with the shocking reality.
The interrogation of Benoy Thomas and Gopi, who were caught along with Antony of Thoothukudi, yielded clues about the involvement of “certain elders in the business”.Acting on the information, the probe team on Thursday raided the house of a key suspect in Rajakkad. The man, who once had a hand-to-mouth existence, now owns a private bus service and properties worth crores of rupees.
“He now owns his own ganja plantation in AP after getting married there,” said an officer, who is part of the probe team. The team suspect the Rajakkad man to be the one who provided hashish oil to the gang that was nabbed. The sleuths found out that Benoy’s brother was a key person who was hired by the ganja planters but died 12 years ago due to pneumonia.
“He was working with the kingpin who runs the drug business in South India. The kingpin, who is also from Idukki, has been on the run ever since two of his consignments fell into the hands of law enforcement agencies this year,” said Excise sources. When sought his views, Thiruvananthapuram Excise CI T Anikumar confirmed that certain people from Idukki are working in ganja plantations in the hinterlands.