Kochi : The excise department will seek the custody of a photographer who was arrested with over Rs 15 lakh in cash from Kakkanad on Saturday.
On Sept 10, the excise arrested a major supplier of methamphetamine in the city. Apart from over 305g of the drug, Rs 2.9 lakh was seized from him in cash.
The arrest highlights a growing trend of drug dealers in the district abandoning digital transactions in favour of cash deals, according to senior officers. The seized cash was money made through drug transactions in less than a week, according to the excise. The crackdown on cartels using the money transaction trail has prompted the switch.
The money was kept in a bag inside the car, in bundles of Rs 3,000, Rs 5,000 and Rs 10,000. Excise officers said that the man had a thriving business, so much so that he used to purchase contraband every few days.
We will seek him in custody to identify the dealers from whom he procures the drug and the customers to whom he sold the drugs,” said a senior officer. “As per our investigation, the money was obtained from drug sales and it was kept with him for procuring the next batch of the contraband. Drug cartels allegedly supplied him with quantities of 250g, 500g or 1kg at a time. The cartels used to provide the contraband to him on credit and he used to repay them after the sales and cutting his profit. The man was produced in court and remanded in judicial custody.
The case pertains to the arrest of Arun K Nair, 34, of Pampady, Kottayam. His car was intercepted by excise officers and 38.13g of MDMA and more than Rs 15 lakh in cash were seized.