19 students detained in massive 1,000-cop raid on drugs in Kattankulathur

CHENNAI: Cracking down on instances of youngsters, especially college students, using ganja and other narcotic substances, hundreds of officials from the Tambaram city police conducted coordinated searches at men’s and women’s hostels, and houses they stay on rent, in Potheri and Kattankulathur in Chengalpattu district on Saturday morning.

At least 30 students were initially detained after the raids that involved around 1,000 police personnel, who searched both men's and women's hostels, and private residences, on Saturday morning. Of them, about 19 of them were taken to Maraimalai Nagar police station for questioning.

The operation was reportedly launched after receiving intelligence tip-off about youth studying in private colleges and universities in the area using ganja and other narcotic substances. There have also been allegations from the public about rise in the sale of drugs targeting students of education institutions in and around Chennai.

The Saturday morning operation, which was undertaken based on the instruction by Tambaram Commissioner Abin Dinesh Modak, specifically focussed on students of a leading educational institution in the locality.

Led by the Deputy Commissioners of Tambaram, Pallikaranai, and traffic wing, male and female police officials searched as many as 500 flats taken on rent by students and private hostels. The operation supervised by Additional Commissioner C Mageshwari came as a surprise move for the youth and also the public.

According to Tambaram city police, 500 gram ganja, six ganja chocolate, 20 ml ganja oil, five bhang balls, one smoking pot, seven hookah machines and six kg hookah powder (called shisha) were seized during the operation.

During the operation, the police also detained Selvamani Gurusamy, an A+ category rowdy from Guduvancherry, from whom the police seized 2.25 kg ganja and four knives.