The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has made another arrest in connection with the seizure of a large consignment of illegal explosives in Kerala’s Malappuram district, taking the total number of arrests in the case to 10.
The accused, identified as Haris TA, was arrested in Manjeri in the district on Saturday. According to the agency, he was the main conspirator behind the illegal procurement of the explosives.
His arrest came a day after the NIA arrested three persons in Karnataka’s Vijayapura on August 7.
The case pertains to the seizure of 89,600 explosive sticks and 10,500 shock tubes from a lorry parked on the premises of Farha Hollow Bricks Company on the Chemmad-Thalappara Road in Malappuram on February 7, 2026.
The lorry was intercepted by the Kerala Police, which arrested three persons allegedly linked to the consignment, the probe agency said.
The accused were allegedly transporting and possessing the explosives without valid licences or permissions, it added.
Subsequent investigations led to the arrest of three more people while the police later traced the origin of the explosives to Bijapur in Karnataka.
A case was initially registered under Sections 4 and 5 of the Explosive Substances Act, which deal with possession of explosives with intent to endanger life or property and possession of explosives under suspicious circumstances.
The NIA later re-registered the case and took over the investigation. As part of the probe, the agency conducted searches at 19 locations across three states, leading to the recovery of incriminating material and the identification of additional persons allegedly involved in the conspiracy.
The Malappuram seizure came days after a similar incident in neighbouring Palakkad district, where police recovered more than 100 boxes of gelatin sticks and detonators from a lorry transporting watermelons.
