Kerala Police Bust Interstate Drug Network, Arrest Three Key Operatives in Bengaluru

Kollam: Shashthamkotta police have arrested three key members of a major interstate drug trafficking ring that had been smuggling large quantities of chemical drugs, including MDMA, into Keralam. The accused — Jithin J Kumar, Murshid Noushad, and Malik Rehan Khazi, a native of Shimoga, Karnataka — were apprehended in Bengaluru.

The breakthrough traces back to a case registered in February, when a young woman was caught with MDMA at ICS Junction. The subsequent investigation led police to an extensive interstate narcotics network. A critical link emerged when Shamnath — the sixth accused in the murder case of notorious gangster Aluva Athul — was found to be connected to the same drug ring. While Shamnath was being brought to Bengaluru on custody for evidence collection, the police team lay in wait and caught the drug delivery network red-handed.

The special team, which had been camping in Bengaluru on the directions of Shashthamkotta DYSP Prasad, was led by Station House Officer Mridhulkumar and included SI Sharath K P, ASI Biju K R, and Civil Police Officers Akhil Chandran and Faisal. The arrested men are described as key figures in a large-scale racket specifically targeting Kerala's youth. All three have been produced before a court and remanded in custody.