Thrissur (Kerala) | A man allegedly tried to hide ganja inside a pressure cooker in which rice was being cooked after police arrived at his house during a narcotics operation at Kunnamkulam here on Saturday, officials said.
According to police, the incident occurred at the residence of Bineesh (40) of Aduputty near Kunnamkulam on Saturday afternoon.
Kunnamkulam police had received a tip-off that ganja was being stored at Bineesh's house, following which a raid was conducted.
On noticing the police team approaching his house, Bineesh allegedly placed a plastic packet containing ganja inside a pressure cooker in which rice was being cooked and kept it on the stove in an attempt to conceal the contraband, officials said.
Police initially searched the entire house but failed to find any narcotic substance.
However, as the pressure cooker continued to whistle, the officers noticed ganja smell emitting.
The police then removed the cooker from the stove and, after releasing the steam, opened it for inspection. Inside the cooked rice, they found a packet containing 401 grams of ganja, police said.
Officials said Bineesh was allegedly involved in ganja peddling earlier and has been named in other criminal cases.
The accused was taken to the Kunnamkulam police station, where a case was registered under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act and his arrest was recorded.
Further investigation is underway, police said.
Thrissur (Kerala) | An Assam-native was arrested from Chalakudy here on Saturday for alleged possession of 'brown sugar', an adulterated form of heroin, police said.
The accused -- Jafar Ali (30) -- was a chicken shop employee and allegedly caught with a small quantity of the drug which the police suspects he was intending to sell to school and college students and other youngsters.
He was caught by a team of the District Anti-Narcotics Special Action Force (DANSAF) and the Chalakudy police under the leadership of Thrissur Rural District Police Chief B Krishnakumar, a statement by the force said.
The accused was caught as part of the statewide anti-drug drive 'Operation Toofaan-The Narco Hunt', it said.
Ali was allegedly selling drugs under the cover of the chicken shop, police said.
He was booked under provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act and the Juvenile Justice Act and remanded to judicial custody, it said.
Meanwhile, the State Police Media Centre (SPMC) said that 241 persons were arrested and 231 cases registered across the state under Operation Toofaan on Saturday.
In addition to that, 11 grams of MDMA, 15.5 kilograms of cannabis, 149 cannabis beedis and various other drugs were seized in the operation, SPMC said.
The operation, which aims to uproot the drug network in the state, was inaugurated by Chief Minister V D Satheesan on June 2.