Prime accused Nawaz Khan (left) with ganja seized from him
MADURAI: In a combined week-long exercise, Ramanathapuram district police along with Madurai city and district police units busted an international drugs racket, arrested 19 people and seized 420 kg ganja they were about to smuggle. Cash worth Rs 29.5 lakh the accused obtained in exchange for drugs smuggled to Sri Lanka, three boats, two four-wheelers, a two-wheeler, 15 mobile phones, a GPS device, a laser light and two weighing machines were also seized from them.
Prime accused M Nawaz Khan, 55, of Nehru Nagar in Ramanathapuram has been engaged in smuggling to Sri Lanka and supplying to local drug sellers for over 10 years, while his son Wasim Khan, 27, has been in the trade for six years, police said. It is only a small network that was smuggling to Sri Lanka. Cracking such networks is an ongoing process, Ramanathapuram district SP E Karthik told TOI.