Police arrested two migrant workers from Assam on Wednesday at a plywood-company room near Perumbavoor.[1] The arrested men are Shahjahan Basha, 34, and Julhas Ali, 27, both of Nagaon.[1] A special investigation team led by the Ernakulam Rural district police chief made the arrests together with Perumbavoor police.[1] The Mangalam account identifies the two as Assam Nagaon natives Shahjahan Basha and Julhas Ali held by the same Rural special team and Perumbavoor police.[2]

The room was in a plywood company at Allapra Kuttippadam, where the men lived.[2] Police inspected the room after a tip-off that the pair were selling liquor and ganja from it.[1] Police said the pair had been under surveillance for some time before the inspection.[1] According to police, the room had been specially arranged for drug consumption and liquor sales.[1]

Their customers were primarily migrant workers employed in the area.[1] The duo allegedly used their jobs at the plywood company as cover while selling liquor and ganja among interstate workers.[2] Officers seized around 50 litres of beer and 800 grams of ganja in the operation, with the 800 grams as the separate cannabis component.[1] The investigation was under way.[1]