Kannur (Keralam) | A West Bengal native suspected of being a key link in the interstate smuggling of cannabis to Keralam has been arrested in Payyanur, with the Excise Department seizing 17 kg of the drug from him.

The department said the accused, Dasarath Mandal, a native of Murshidabad in West Bengal, was nabbed on Saturday while allegedly carrying 17 kg of cannabis from Odisha.

He was arrested during a search conducted by excise officials at Payyanur Railway Station here based on a tip-off, the department said.

A case has been registered against him under relevant provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. Mandal is suspected to be one of the key links in the smuggling of cannabis from other states to Keralam, the department said.

Excise officials said Mandal had previously come to Keralam from Odisha with ganja.

The department said it had received information about his accomplices.