6.5 kg ganja seized; one held

Over six kg of ganja besides cash and mobile phones were seized near here and a man arrested in this connection, the police said today.
Police intercepted a car on a tip-off yesterday at Pathukannu village and arrested 35-year-old P Manikandan hailing from neighbouring Tamil Nadu after finding 6.5 kg of ganja in his possession.
Senior Superintendent of Police (Law and Order) Rajiv Ranjan said in a release that the accused was arrested under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.
In addition to the ganja, Rs 2.24 lakh, five mobile phones and 'sheep dung' weighing 0.75 kg were seized. The value of the seized items were put at Rs 13 lakh.

The release said the accused used to procure the contraband items from Murugan of Madurai in Tamil Nadu and sell it to his regular customers in Puducherry. He also used to sell it to neighbouring Tamil Nadu districts by mixing the sheep dung with the ganja dried leaves to net huge profits, the release said.
The police official said Puducherry police had seized more than 20 kg ganja this year.

"It is an unprecedented seizure in the Union Territory," he said.
The official said police had seized a fortnight ago one kg of ganja in neighbouring Mettupalayam village.
"The fight against sale or possession of ganja across Puducherry is being continued to eradicate the menace. Student community and daily wage earners have been found to be victims of the menace," the police official added.