Five arrested for smuggling 31 kg of ganja near Erode

ERODE: Prohibition Enforcement Wing (PEW) police in Erode district have arrested five men on charges of smuggling 31.2 kg of ganja. On Tuesday night, a PEW team on a regular vehicle check near Nasiyanur on the Coimbatore - Salem National Highway intercepted a truck carrying tea powder, searched it and found ganja hidden among tea powder packets. The team arrested Vinayagam 54, Prasanna, 37, and Podharaja, 28 (all hailing from Madurai district) and Thangapandi, 48, of Virudhunagar. Based on their confession, police on Wednesday arrested Rajkumar, 32, of Dindigul district who was also involved in the smuggling of ganja.Police said Prasanna and Podharaja had purchased ganja from Pragampur in Odisha and were smuggling it hidden on a truck loaded with tea powder. They were to hand over the contraband to Rajkumar who would help them sell it.The arrested men were remanded in judicial custody.