Suspended cop among two held in Thanjavur for bid to smuggle ganja to Sri Lanka

TIRUCHY: Thanjavur police thwarted an attempt to smuggle 117 kg of ganja to Sri Lanka via the Athirampattinam coast near Pattukkottai on Friday and arrested two persons including a policeman under suspension.

Based on a tip-off that a huge quantity of ganja was being smuggled to Sri Lanka via coastal hamlets in Thanjavur, a police team headed by Athirampattinam Inspector Murugesan conducted a vehicle inspection at Vandipettai area. On suspicion, the team searched a car in which they found 117 kgs of ganja concealed in gunny bags. The police team immediately seized the car and the ganja bundles and secured two persons.

The duo was identified as S Shankar Rajapandian (33), a resident of Rajagopalapuram in Pudukkottai, and his friend M Dhavamani (26) from Thiruvappur in Pudukkottai. Shankar Rajapandian was found to be a police constable, who has been placed under suspension for his involvement in sexually abusing a minor girl at Mukkombu in Tiruchy on October 4, 2023.

In further interrogation, the duo confessed to the police that they had been involved in the offense for the past few months. They used to purchase huge quantities of ganja from Andhra Pradesh and transport them to Sri Lanka with the support of the local fishermen. It is said that a section of fishermen, aware of the smuggling, passed on the information to the police.