The City police on Tuesday arrested two habitual offenders with alleged possession of 3kg of ganja.
The Shadow police team apprehended Praveen alias Kadakkal Praveen alias Kuttappan, 37, of Kadakkal and Noufal, 45, of Aluva, following which their arrests were recorded by the Kazhakuttam police. The duo were nabbed near Kazhakuttam when they were allegedly smuggling the contraband in a car.
Other cases
According to the police, Praveen, who was involved in several theft cases, was undergoing a jail term until three months ago. Following his release, he allegedly conspired with some of his accomplices to hatch a plot for a major burglary. He later took to the illegal drug trade in order to fund the crime he purportedly conspired to commit.
Praveen, who is known to have allegedly burgled banks and other financial institutions, associated himself with many other notorious history-sheeters, including Vimal Raj, Ooppa Prakash, Aadu Saji, and Blackie Shibu in cases pertaining to thefts, extortion, break-in, and vehicle thefts. He is known be involved in the burglary of a house and financial institution in Karinkal in Kanyakumari from where gold ornaments weighing 240 sovereigns were stolen. He has also robbed ₹10 lakh from the Palode branch of the State Bank of India (SBI), extorted ₹35,000 from a youth in Mavelikkara, and stole ₹50,000 from a man at the Perumbavoor branch of SBI.
Noufal, who was allegedly involved in stealing a lorry laden with 9 tonnes of rubber sheets in Venkaramoodu, is also suspected to have played roles in various theft and spirit smuggling cases that were registered in Alathur, Aluva, Kalamassery and Thiruvallam police stations.