Police in the coastal district of Nagapattinam in Tamil Nadu have been reportedly investigating smugglers moving ganja from Andhra Pradesh to Sri Lanka via fishing boats. Five men have been arrested so far after ganja worth Rs 4 crore was seized by a special team of police at the Nagapattinam port. Further investigation is ongoing. At this point, a photo of Inspector Periyasamy, who was heading the special team given the task of arresting such smugglers, eating biriyani with some of the accused at a luxury hotel, has raised questions after the photo was made public. The inspector has now been transferred to a wait list pending investigation.
Regarding the raid at the Nagapattinam port, police received an anonymous tip off leading to the seizure of 400 kg of ganja. A trawler-owner called Mohan and four others identified as Silambarasan, Nivas, Jegathisan and Saravanan have been arrested. Silambarasan is said to be the leader of the smuggler group. Periyasamy had also headed a sudden search of Silambarasan’s house. Important evidence in relation to the smuggling case against him reportedly came to light after the search.
In January last year, the Mahabubnagar police in Telangana uncovered an international racket after it caught a gang that was allegedly smuggling ganja from Andhra Pradesh to Sri Lanka via Tamil Nadu. The police said at the time that four people had been arrested and 180 kg of ganja, worth approximately Rs 21 lakh, had been seized.
The police had said that the accused would buy the ganja for a cheap rate in Sileru in Andhra Pradesh and sell it at a higher rate to a local at Rameshwaram in Tamil Nadu, and the same ganja was transported to Sri Lanka and other countries through international smugglers.