Main accused in distribution of MDMA to Keralam from Bengaluru arrested

Kochi, Nov 9 (PTI) The main accused in the distribution chain behind the smuggling of large quantities of MDMA from Bengaluru to Keralam has been arrested, police said on Monday.

    Police said that Dhanesh S Nair (31), known as 'Danny', was arrested from Angamaly by a team led by Aluva Deputy Superintendent of Police (DySP) Baiju Paulos and allegedly seized 803 grams of hashish oil and eight grams of MDMA from him.

    Dhanesh, who hails from Haripad but was residing near Mysuru, is the main accused in the drug smuggling gang that is transporting and distributing large quantities of MDMA from Bengaluru to Kerala, police said in a statement.

    Information about Dhanesh, being the main link in the drug distribution chain, was obtained during a detailed investigation based on information obtained from checking the mobile phone of Harikrishnan KS, who was arrested a day ago from Aluva with 185 grams of MDMA.

    Subsequently, a Special Investigation Team under the supervision of District Police Chief K S Sudarshan expanded the investigation to Tamil Nadu and Karnataka and during the probe, Dhanesh was arrested from Angamaly, the statement said.

    According to the police, Dhanesh used to recruit youths for drug trafficking and distribution and would take them to Bengaluru and surrounding areas. From there, he smuggled large quantities of MDMA to Keralam and distributed it to drug dealers and consumers in various parts of the state.

    The investigation team has found videos and other visuals from the mobile phones of the accused that show the methods of smuggling, including hiding the drugs inside banana bunches.

    The probe also revealed that Dhanesh has banana plantations and farmlands in Nanjangudu near Mysuru and under the guise of cultivation, allegedly carried out drug trafficking.

    Police said that his arrest had led to the discovery of one of the main sources in the distribution chain that supplies drugs to Keralam from the Bengaluru-Mysuru regions.

    Harikrishnan was arrested on Sunday with 185 grams of MDMA from a lodge in Aluva, and based on information received from him, Shinu Sebastian was arrested with seven grams of MDMA from Thoppumpady in collaboration with the Kochi City Police.

    Now, the main accused in the distribution chain has also been arrested during the ongoing investigation, police said.

    It said that Harikrishnan and Sebastian were distributing drugs as per the instructions given by Dhanesh, also known as 'Danny Bhai', through Instagram.

    They were the ones who were distributing drugs to customers and delivering the money to Dhanesh, police said.

    Through their arrests, the investigation team has obtained more information about the drug distribution chain that operates using social media, the statement said.

    It further said that the investigation was progressing to find more links in the gang that is supplying drugs to Keralam from the Bengaluru-Mysuru areas, and action will be taken to completely disrupt the distribution chain.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)