Four persons arrested in separate drug seizures in Ernakulam

Kochi: Four individuals were arrested in separate raids conducted as part of Operation Toofan on Saturday. The police seized around 3.5kg of cannabis and 6.5g of heroin.District anti-narcotic special action force (Dansaf-Ernakulam Rural) and North Paravur Police arrested West Bengal natives Humayun Sheikh, 23, Mahabhul Mandal, 27, and Rubel Sheikh, 31, while they were allegedly transporting cannabis on a scooter at Thamaravalavu in Paravur. The police said they had procured the contraband from Odisha and were selling it among migrant workers. They allegedly bought the cannabis at Rs 3,000 a kg and sold it at nearly 10 times the price.In a separate operation, a special team led by Perumbavoor ASP arrested Sirajul Islam, 34, of Nagaon in Assam, with 6.5g of heroin. He was taken into custody from Vallam while allegedly waiting to sell the drug. The police said he had been under surveillance for some time based on a tip-off. During questioning, Islam reportedly told investigators that he had purchased the heroin from Pattambi and travelled to Vallam by bus.The police have launched an investigation to identify those who supplied the drugs and potential buyers.The operations were conducted under the supervision of Munambam DSP S Jayakrishnan, narcotics cell DSP C Binukumar, Perumbavoor ASP Hardik Meena and SI Prashanth P Nair. Several officers from the narcotics cell and local police stations were part of the investigation teams.