Kochi | A man and a woman have been arrested by Excise officials after MDMA pockets, totally weighing 94 grams, were seized from them in Kochi and Alappuzha, officials said on Friday.

The accused have been identified as Mohammed Shafi and Saritha, both natives of Alappuzha.

The seizure was made on Thursday during a raid led by the Ernakulam Excise team following a tip-off that the accused were storing and selling MDMA.

Officials first searched a hotel room in Kochi where Mohammed Shafi was staying and recovered about 69 grams of MDMA. Shafi was taken into custody from the hotel.

During questioning, Excise officials learnt that Saritha had been staying with Shafi in the hotel room. This prompted the team to launch a search for her.

Saritha was later traced and arrested in Ernakulam.

Based on information obtained during the investigation, the Excise team also searched her house in Alappuzha, where they seized around 25 grams of MDMA.

According to Excise officials, the accused used to procure around 120 grams of MDMA from Bengaluru and sell it from rented rooms in Kochi.

The Excise team also seized an amount of cash suspected to be the proceeds of narcotics sales.

Officials said the investigation is focused on identifying the Bengaluru-based suppliers and others involved in the drug distribution network.

They are also investigating whether the accused supplied MDMA to more people in Kochi and Alappuzha.