Chennai, August 2: Tamil Nadu Police have arrested six people along with 300 kg drugs from Nagapattinam town of the state. The accused have been produced before the magistrate court and remanded to judicial custody on Wednesday. The accused have revealed that the drugs were procured from the borders of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha, and were to be ferried to Sri Lanka.

Sources told IANS that the Nagapattinam and Rameswaram coastal belts of Tamil Nadu are still being used by certain Tamil national movements. Meanwhile, the security agencies are probing whether this drug recovery was a tip of the iceberg and that those behind it are bent on pushing more stuff to the island nation through the sea route. 2021 Mundra Port Drug Case: 2,988 Kg Heroin Seized, 27 Arrests, Drugs Originated From Afghanistan, Says MoS for Home Nityanand Rai.

In October 2021, National Investigating Agency (NIA) had arrested Santukam alias Sabesan, a former top operative of the now-defunct LTTE. Tamil Nadu security agencies which had investigated the case found that Sabesan was connected with Sri Lankan ‘criminal’ Angoda Lokka who was later found dead in Coimbatore. Lokka was living in disguise in Coimbatore.

The arrested people have informed the police that they were trying to revive the LTTE and were using the drug network to raise funds. In March 2021, the Coast Guard had intercepted 300 kg of heroin and five AK 47 assault rifles and 1000 pellets from a boat ’Rahivansi’ near Minicoy island in Arabian Sea.

The drug was valued at Rs 3000 crore and it was one of the biggest drug recoveries in the area. Investigating agencies have said that Sabesan was connected to this drug recovery and he was arrested in October 2021.

Sources in Tamil Nadu Coastal police told IANS that the 300 Kg of ganja haul from Nagapattinam may only be a trail run by the Tamil outfit and that there can be a major consignment to be smuggled into Sri Lanka. Narcotics Trade Busted: NCB Busts Two International Drug Cartels Operating Through Darknet, Arrest 22 People; Amit Shah Says 'Drug Traffickers Can Never Escape Clutches of Our Agencies'.

The Coastal police and Coast Guard authorities are also on an alert and several fishing boat owners in Nagapattinam and Rameswaram areas are being kept under the radar of the elite ‘Q ‘ branch police of Tamil Nadu.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 02, 2023 08:33 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).