Coimbatore: As part of its ongoing efforts to crackdown on rampant sale of ganja in the district, a special team of the city police on Thursday arrested a 32-year-old man, who has been supplying the contraband to the peddlers here. The team also seized 30kg of ganja from him.
Police identified him as P Rajeshkumar, a native of Kalayarkovil in Sivaganga district. “He was an accomplice of notorious sex racketeer Kovai Balaji, who had flesh trade rackets operating in Chennai, Kerala and a few other states. Rajeshkumar had rapport with ganja sellers in Andhra Pradesh and often visited the state. Over several years, he had carried more than 500kg ganja from AP in a pickup truck to Coimbatore with he help of his accomplices. He used to sell it to ganja peddlers in the district,” a police officer said.
“He used to buy a bundle (2.75kg) of ganja for Rs 2,000 from the suppliers in AP and sold it in Coimbatore for Rs 15,000. He was the main ganja distributor in Coimbatore and used to supply it to ganja sellers at Udumalpet, Sulur, Perur, Veerakeralam, Kavundampalayam, Chettipalayam, Thennampalayam and Mettupalayam areas. Local peddlers used to sell the smuggled ganja to youngsters, including college students in Coimbatore,” the officer told TOI.
Rajeshkumar is also facing a murder charge in Sivaganga district and a theft case in Coimbatore city, police sources said.
Deputy commissioner of police (law&order) S Lakshmi had formed the special team (anti-vice squad) a few months ago to check the growth of drug and sex rackets. The team had arrested four people, who smuggled 205kg of ganja from Chintapalli in Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh to Coimbatore, on March 1.