Thiruvananthapuram | Excise sleuths in Keralam have busted what the department described as the state's biggest synthetic drug racket, arresting nine people, including two women from Kozhikode, who allegedly ran the 'KB Cartel' and planned to smuggle 5 to 20 kg of MDMA into the state every month.
In a Facebook post on Thursday night, Excise Minister M Liju congratulated the officers and said the arrests were made as part of 'Operation Thunder', launched under the Excise Department's comprehensive anti-drug campaign 'Mayangilla Kerala'.
The case began with the arrest of a 20-year-old woman from Thamarassery and a man from Kondotty after 3.5 kg of MDMA was seized from them near the Olavanna toll plaza on NH 66 in Kozhikode, he said.
Following the arrests, a special team was formed to conduct a detailed probe and an interstate investigation was launched to trace the source of the drug network.
The investigation led to the arrest of nine people, including two women, who allegedly operated a drug trafficking network under the name 'KB Cartel', with the aim of smuggling between five and 20 kg of MDMA into Kerala every month, the minister said.
The probe was carried out in Maharashtra, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu, with women excise officials also participating in the operation, he said.
Unlike routine investigations, details were not shared with the media during the probe as the operation was conducted in the utmost secrecy, Liju said, adding that this helped investigators identify all links in the network.
He said several of those arrested were wanted in connection with commercial narcotics cases registered in different states.
Liju congratulated the Excise officials for their work in dismantling the drug network and called for collective efforts to eradicate the drug menace from Kerala.
