87.59 kg of ganja seized from a car's hidden chamber near Kattakada; three arrested
Thiruvananthapuram Rural Police seized 87.59 kg of ganja from a secret chamber in a Tamil Nadu-registered car between Vellarada and Kattakada and arrested its two occupants. Interrogation led them to arrest Joby Jose, a peddler with 13 prior cases whom police describe as the consignment's recipient.
🇮🇳 Between Vellarada and Kattakada, Thiruvananthapuram district, Kerala · India
·
Arrested
3
Cannabis
87.59 kg
Agencies
Thiruvananthapuram Rural Police, District Anti-Narcotics and Special Action Force (DANSAF)
Thiruvananthapuram Rural Police seized87.59 kg of ganja from a Tamil
Nadu-registered car in an operation under the state’s Operation Toofan anti-drug
drive.[1]The car was intercepted in the early hours between Vellarada and
Kattakada in the district.[2]An initial search of the car found nothing, and
a special chamber built at the bottom of the vehicle was found only during a
detailed inspection.[2]Officers found 40 packets of about 2.2 kg each in the
secret compartment.[1]
Akhil, 32, and Subeesh, 33, both from Vellarada, were arrested first.[3]The
team had kept the two men under surveillance for nearly a month, and the
operation began after a tip-off to Rural SP Prasanth Kani.[3]Interrogation
led police to Joby Jose, a Thiruvananthapuram-based peddler they describe as the
consignment’s intended recipient, and they arrested him as well.[1]Jose has
been an accused in 13 cases, several of them under the Narcotic Drugs and
Psychotropic Substances Act.[1]
Police said the ganja had been bought in Andhra Pradesh and brought to Kerala
through Tamil Nadu.[2]Investigators suspect the consignment was meant for
distribution across Thiruvananthapuram and other districts and to be broken up
for sale at schools and in coastal and other sensitive areas.[1]Police said
the two drivers had been involved in drug peddling before and were still being
questioned about others in the network.[2]
Case data
Every number and detail the sources state, with the sources that state it.
Arrested
3
Cannabis
87.59 kg
Agencies
Thiruvananthapuram Rural Police; District Anti-Narcotics and Special Action Force (DANSAF)
Only The Hindu gives the exact 87.59 kg; the other accounts say around 90 kg, so the exact figure is used.
The Hindu names the two first arrested as Akhil and Sudheesh, PTI gives Subeesh and Times of India gives Subeesh, 33; the Hindu spelling is not confirmed.
The Hindu does not date the operation beyond a press conference on Thursday, 10 September 2026, so that day is used as the incident date.
No exact place name is given; PTI puts the interception between Vellarada and Kattakada, so district-level coordinates are used.
No street value was published, and no charge, remand or court outcome was reported.
Mahabubabad district police destroyed 99.688 kg of dry ganja, valued at Rs 49.84 lakh, seized in 19 NDPS cases. The court-approved disposal took place at a biomedical waste facility at Gopalpet in Khammam district under the district Drug Disposal Committee.
Gurgaon Traffic Police intercepted two people carrying cannabis at Nainwal Cut in Manesar and recovered 12kg, handing them to the local police station for investigation. The seizure was reported as part of traffic police crime-prevention work over the past 30 days.
The Odisha Excise Department arrested 3,764 people in a month-long special enforcement drive from 10 October to 10 November 2026. Seizures included 3,201 kg of ganja, 6,366 grams of heroin and more than 4.28 lakh bulk litres of illicitly distilled liquor, with 7,826 cases registered.
Police in Bihar's Kosi division seized 8,254.794 kilograms of ganja during an ongoing anti-narcotics campaign across Saharsa, Supaul and Madhepura districts launched in February 2026. Authorities sent 2,717 suspected traffickers to jail across all contraband categories, with recent weekly operations recovering another 52.1 kg of ganja and arresting 13 people on dry-narcotics offences.