ED raids were connected to the seizure of hybrid ganja, also known as hydroponic ganja, in June in Ernakulam and the seizure of a large quantity of MDMA smuggled through Karipur airport in Malappuram in Oct last year, according to sources. Kochi: Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday conducted raids at multiple locations in the state as part of a money-laundering probe into two cases of drug smuggling from abroad.
The case in Ernakulam pertains to the seizure of 18kg of hybrid ganja, worth around Rs 18 crore, from Perumbavoor in June. The searches were held at four places in Kozhikode related to the seizure of 949.26g of MDMA smuggled from Oman in Oct last year. The searches were held on the premises linked to the accused in these cases in Kozhikode and Palakkad districts. Ernakulam rural police initially arrested a couple and later the remaining members of the racket following the seizure. The arrested included kingpins of the racket behind the smuggling of hybrid ganja from abroad, especially Thailand. A Muringoor native was intercepted by the police when he was coming out of Karipur airport after completing Customs inspection when the contraband was seized.
ED recently registered a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) connected to the police case. A preliminary probe by the central agency has found that the accused were allegedly involved in laundering the proceeds of the crime, generated through drug trafficking from Thailand to India. The money trail is also under investigation as money transfer to Thailand was suspected to be through illegal channels.