The Thiruvananthapuram City police have arrested three Maldivians with alleged possession of 17 kg of hashish oil. Among those arrested are Shaneez Maheer, 27, who is apparently wanted by several countries for his role in smuggling narcotic substances.
The other accused were identified as Aymen Ahmed, 24, and Ebrahim Fousan Salih, 29.
The alleged attempts of the gang to smuggle the contraband, worth around ₹5 crore in the international black market, through Thiruvananthapuram International Airport were thwarted by the city shadow police wing, following which their arrests were recorded by the Cantonment police.
The operation was led by Inspector General (Administration, Police Headquarters) P. Vijayan, who is the nodal officer of the Kerala Anti-Narcotic Special Action Force (KANSAF), formed to rein in cultivation, trade and trafficking of narcotic and psychotropic substances in the State. An alert received from the Narcotics Control Bureau regarding attempts made to smuggle hashish from the State capital was passed on to the District Police Chief (Thiruvananthapuram city) P. Prakash, who assembled the investigation team.
On the basis of the information, the three foreigners were under surveillance for the last three days, during which they remained on the move, constantly shifting from one hotel to another in the city. In the meanwhile, they meticulously went about planning their escape along with the contraband. They purportedly purchased 32 packets of ‘dalda’ from the Chala market and replaced the content with the highly-condensed hashish oil, Mr. Vijayan said.
According to Mr. Prakash, the police have obtained vital clues about those who supplied the contraband to the gang.
He added that the efforts that were being made by the shadow police team, led by Assistant Commissioner (Control Room) V. Suresh Kumar, have yielded results with 150 kg of marijuana, cocaine, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) stamps, hashish and methamphetamine being seized in the city during the last two months.
Mr. Vijayan said that proactive efforts of KANSAF along with its district units have led to the confiscation of around 800 kg of synthetic and pharmaceutical drugs from across the State this year.