Drug peddler held with 1kg ganja

Kochi: Ernakulam Rural police arrested a 30-year-old man with 1 kg of ganja late on Sunday night. Aluva police identified the arrested person as Biplab Mandal a native of Murshidabad, West Bengal. He was living in a rented accommodation in Kuttamassery.He was intercepted by the police at Kuttamassery while he was on his way to sell the drug among the migrant workers, on a bike. The police arrested Mandal after they received a tip-off about his drug peddling. Ganja was hidden in the shoulder bag the accused was carrying.The drug was packed in small packets and was sold for Rs 500 and Rs 1,000. Zip covers used for packing the ganja were also recovered from him. The area was kept under police surveillance for the past few days based on the suspicion that drug peddlers were active there.The investigation team included Inspector MM Manju Das, sub-inspector SS Sreelal, and CPOs Mahin Shah, Abubakar, Muhammad Amir, KM Manoj, and KI Shihab. He was presented in the court and remanded to judicial custody.The rural police are conducting a drive against drug peddling in the district as part of the ‘clean rural Ernakulam' campaign. Last week, during the drive, a youth was arrested with 93 vials of heroin from Perumbavoor.Meanwhile, Kalady police have launched an awareness campaign against drug abuse. Over the weekend, the police held a community walk and run to raise awareness against drug abuse. Police have launched a week-long campaign to discourage drug abuse and to urge residents to report tips related to narcotic cases.