Excise officials on Friday seized 13.5 kg of hashish oil worth Rs 13 crore in Thiruvananthapuram on Friday. Five people have been arrested in the case. 

According to a report by the Deccan Chronicle, the five people who were arrested have been identified as Shafeek and Shajan, both natives of Thiruvananthapuram, Anil and Babu, who are natives of Idukki district and Ram Babu, a native of Andhra Pradesh. 

Reports also state that the officials managed to seize a sum of Rs 8 lakh in cash from the arrested persons. The Deccan Chronicle report states that the cash which was seized is believed to be paid by a person who purchased the substance before being caught. 

Following a tip-off, excise officials seized the hashish oil from the floor and dickey of an Innova car, near a school in Akkulam in Thiruvananthapuram district. 

The New Indian Express (TNIE) quoted an excise officer as saying, “We received prior information about a gang trying to smuggle contraband and a plan was prepared to nab them.”

As per the report, this is the largest quantity of hashish oil recovered from the state capital, taking the total amount of hashish oil seized to about Rs 45 crore in six months. 

According to TNIE report, excise sources said that the contraband was sourced from Andhra Pradesh and that the Idukki natives acted as middlemen who sold it to the two natives of Thiruvananthapuram. 

With the seizing of this hashish oil, the Excise Department busted a major ring involved in the illegal trading of hashish oil, a highly priced derivative of ganja. 

Enforcement officials in the state are on high alert as the supply of contraband drugs into the state is likely to increase with the elections scheduled for next month.