Nagapattinam: Four people arrested in connection with the seizure of 137 kg of crystal methamphetamine near Nagai have been lodged in prison.
Officials of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence seized methamphetamine worth Rs. 135 crore near Velankanni in Nagai district, in Prathaparapuram, on Oct. 16.
In this case, the four people arrested were Bhoopalan (42), who was a member of the TVK district executive committee and also a lawyer, along with Sugan (27), Manikandan (39), and Satheeshkumar (30). They were taken to the Nagai Customs office, where officials from the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence conducted intensive questioning for 30 continuous hours.
In this situation, the customs department’s investigation concluded at around 8 p.m. the day before yesterday. Following this, the four people arrested, including Bhoopalan, were produced before Judicial Magistrate Sudha at her residence in Vedaranyam. The judge ordered that they be kept in custody until Oct. 30. Following this, all four were brought to Nagai and lodged in the district prison.
In this regard, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence said in an official press release issued yesterday: 137 kg of the banned synthetic drug crystal methamphetamine has been seized from a coastal village in Nagapattinam district. Near Velankanni, in Prathaparapuram, 6 bags containing 27 silver-colored packets weighing 5 kg were recovered. Those packets contained high-purity methamphetamine.
This narcotic was being transferred from one boat to another in the middle of the sea and was to be smuggled into Sri Lanka. The value of the seized illegal drug consignment is estimated to be more than Rs. 100 crore. This is also one of the largest drug seizures carried out in the coastal areas of Tamil Nadu in recent years.
Four people have been arrested in connection with this. During the raid, cash worth Rs. 10 lakh, 2 four-wheeled vehicles, and one two-wheeler were seized. Following this, the four who were caught were arrested and remanded in judicial custody. Through this operation, a drug smuggling network was successfully dismantled. It was stated as such.
