T’puram: Kovalam Police on Monday arrested a 26-year-old man in connection with the seizure of over 120g of MDMA, 4.11g of hashish oil and 200g of ganja from two alleged drug peddlers in June.The police said Akash of Kulathoor was a key figure in the city’s drug distribution network and that financial transactions related to the drug trade were routed through his bank account.The police also found several photographs allegedly showing MDMA being sold on Akash’s mobile phone, said Kovalam circle inspector V M Sreekumar. The police said they would investigate the assets allegedly acquired by Akash through the drug trade.The case relates to an operation conducted under ‘Operation Toofan’ on June 30, when the police arrested Thumba Karimanal native Sachu alias Chicken Sachu, 27, and Sreekaryam Pangappara native Akhil Krishna, 29. The duo were intercepted at Kovalam junction on the Kovalam bypass after they allegedly attempted to evade a Dansaf team at Porode.According to the police, the duo had procured the contraband from Bengaluru for around Rs 1.5 lakh and were transporting it through Tamil Nadu to Thiruvananthapuram when they were intercepted. A police officer, Shibu, sustained injuries to his hand while attempting to apprehend the accused.The police said Akash’s role came to light during the investigation into the drug supply network. Sachu and his brother Sanju had also been booked earlier in drug-related cases, the police said.
