Thoothukudi, Dec 22 (FN Agency) Police today seized 21 kg of heroin, valued at Rs 21 crore in global market, and arrested six persons in this connection. Disclosing this to newsmen, here Superintendent of Police S.Jayakumar said a special police team on getting specific inputs, nabbed one Ansar Ali (26) on suspicion and seized few packets with white powder, suspected to be heroin from him at Tooveypuram Park last night. The police team later nabbed his associates Imran Khan (27) and Marimuthu (26) in a nearby locality and recovered few more packets from them, totally weighing about 162 grams.
Based on the confession of the trio, the team arrested three more persons, all of them fishermen, and seized 21 kg of heroin from a hideout at Tharuvaikulam here in the early hours of today. Interrogation with the arrested fishermen revealed that they recovered a parcel containing heroin floating on the sea, when they were fishing in a mechanized fishing boat near the Minicoy Islands about ten months ago. The parcel might have been dumped into the sea by drug smugglers on being noticed by Indian maritime forces. The fishermen had brought the heroin parcel to Thoothukudi and attempted to sell it to narcotic peddlers. Mr.Jayakumar said the fishermen, who does not know the international value of the heroin that fetches Rs one crore per kg, had sold it for Rs 1.50 lakh per kg to Ansar Ali and his associates. Further investigations were on, he said.