Four people, including a senior functionary of Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), a political party in Tamil Nadu, have been arrested by Indian intelligence officials over suspicions that they planned to transport narcotics from India to Sri Lanka by sea.
According to Indian media reports, 100 kilogrammes of methamphetamine were recovered from the suspects.
The arrested party functionary has been identified as N. Boopalan, 42, a member of the executive committee of the TVK’s Nagapattinam district unit. The party is led by South Indian actor Joseph Vijay.
Three other suspects were also arrested. The raid was conducted following confidential information that narcotics were being trafficked to Sri Lanka from the Nagapattinam area.
At around 6.00 a.m. yesterday, security officials first searched the house of one of the suspects. Based on information uncovered during that search, another team of officials searched the residence of Boopalan, identified as the main suspect in the alleged operation.
Indian media reports further state that investigators suspect Boopalan’s wife, who is Sri Lankan, may have facilitated the alleged trafficking operation.
Preliminary investigations have also revealed that the consignment of narcotics, brought from Chennai, had allegedly been stored for distribution to various parts of Tamil Nadu.
Following the raids and questioning, the suspects and the seized narcotics were handed over to the Nagapattinam Customs Office for further investigations.
Meanwhile, TVK Nagapattinam district secretary M. Sugumaran reportedly announced that Boopalan’s party membership and all positions he held had been revoked with immediate effect, citing the allegations linking him to drug trafficking and his alleged conduct in violation of party policies.