Property of drug lord attached

For the first time in the State, the Excise Department has attached ₹1 crore worth property of a kingpin in the narcotic drug business from Adimaly in the the Mannakandam village here.

He has been serving jail term after being arrested with 10 kg of hashih oil worth ₹1.8 crore in the international market in Thiruvanathapuram.

The contraband was meant for smuggling to Maldives on October 25, 2018.

There were many Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) cases against the accused Shajimon alias Moorkhan Shaji of Parathazhathu Veetil at Chottupara in Devikulam. The attachment of the six properties including in the name of his wife and children was made after it was found that he had amassed wealth from drug business.

Inquiry

An inquiry ordered by the Assistant Excise Commissioner found that he was an autorikshaw driver at Adimaly prior to entering the narcotic smuggling and had no other source of income.

Shaji was arrested with Melbin, 43, and Rajesh, from Devikulam. An inquiry by the Excise department officials found that Shaji was the kingpin of narcotic smuggling in the State.

The village officer’s certificate regarding income showed he had an annual income of ₹90,000 that would not permit accumulation of assets.

It was found that he had repaid ₹30 lakh to a cooperative bank in 2012-13 for a loan he had taken after he was sentenced by a court. It was also proved that he earned property in the name of wife and children, who had no other source of income.

According to the legal circle, the attachment of the property would send a message to the agents in the business, as the district was said to be the launch pad of narcotics coming from Naxal-infected areas of Orissa and Andhra Pradesh.

Source: Read Full Article