A special squad of the Excise department on Thursday arrested a Wayanad native with 1 kg of MDMA from near the Kozhikode railway station. M. Ismail was reportedly nabbed when he came to the city by Mangala Express with the smuggled synthetic drug from Delhi.
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Excise sources said the 27-year-old had secured the costly drug from an African citizen after reaching Delhi on June 30. His plan was to sell it off in small quantities near Vadakara and Koyilandy, they said.
Ismail, a native of Vellamunda village in Wayanad, was reportedly active as a drug pusher for many years. Mainly, students and local drug pushers were his targets. According to Excise officials, the seized product was worth ₹50 lakh. Further investigations would be held to identify local drug pushers associated with Ismail, they said.
The suspect was arrested following a tip-off received by the Excise special enforcement squad. He was taken into custody early in the morning by the squad led by inspector E.R. Gireesh Kumar. Officials said it was the biggest seizure recently made in Kozhikode district.