Notorious drug supplier held with 1.25kg ganja

KOCHI: A team led by Excise inspector (Aluva range) T K Gopi on Tuesday arrested a 24-year-old West Bengal native from Aluva with 1.25kg of ganja.

Jentu Sheikh, famous as ‘Manik Bhai’ among drug peddlers, is the arrested. Gopi said Jentu was the main supplier of ganja among students and youngsters in Aluva, Choondi, Chunagamveli and Edathala. He had been under the team’s surveillance.

The officials said Jentu used to buy ganja from West Bengal as per his customers’ demand and sell it in small packets worth `300 and `500 each. He used to sell the contraband through other migrant labourers who worked as his aides on commission. The Excise team launched a probe against him based on the tip-off received from authorities of a college.

“He hardly kept ganja on his person. He would separate the contraband into small packets as soon as he reached the state from West Bengal and distribute it among his aides. Hence, we could not nab him initially,” Gopi said.

Police got a break after one of Jentu’s aides was arrested. During interrogation, the aide told the team that ‘Manik Bhai’ was in a train, en route to Kochi with the ganja.

“He used to board the train from West Bengal, get down at Palakkad or Thrissur and take a bus to Perumbavoor. From there, he used to go to Edathala where he stayed,” said Gopi.

This time, the Excise team waited for him in disguise near KMEA Engineering College, Edathala, and nabbed him. Preventive officers A Vasudevan, M K Shaji, V S Shaiju and civil Excise officers Anoop, Vikant and Dhanya were part of the Excise team that arrested him.