The special NDPS court in Madurai sentenced Samathanaprabhu to 10 years’ rigorous imprisonment and a ₹1 lakh fine.[1] The judge delivered the verdict on 28 October 2026 after finding the charges proved at the end of the trial.[1] The judgment came more than a decade after the seizure in 2015.[2]

On 14 October 2015, a special team of the Narcotics Intelligence Bureau CID (NIB-CID) checked vehicles at Vadamadurai junction on the Dindigul–Trichy road and seized 52 kg of ganja being transported illegally.[1] Police arrested Samathanaprabhu, 42, of Kambam village in Theni district.[1] The 52 kg load was a commercial quantity meant for illegal distribution, and he was the prime accused in the case.[2]

The case was registered under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985, and NIB-CID officers filed the charge sheet in the Madurai court after collecting scientific evidence and witness statements.[1] The state police chief, Mahesh Kumar Agarwal, praised the investigating officer and the NIB-CID team for the investigation, the evidence gathering and the way the case was presented in court.[1]