How one drug raid dragged Mollywood into hybrid 'ganja' case
What's the story
Actors Shine Tom Chacko (Beast) and Sreenath Bhasi (Manjummel Boys) were interrogated by the Kerala Excise team on Monday in connection with the seizure of hybrid ganja from an Alappuzha resort in Omanapuzha.
The probe was initiated after 3kg hybrid ganja was seized on April 1.
So far, the Excise team has arrested three people: Thasleema Sulthana, her husband Sultan Akbar Ali, and K Feroze.
Here's how Sulthana's arrest triggered a landslide, and Mollywood got linked to the drug case.
Investigation details
Sulthama might have supplied drugs to Chacko and Bhasi: Sleuths
Chacko and Bhasi were served notices to appear for questioning last week after their links were established with Sulthama through call and message details retrieved from her mobile phone.
Investigators suspect Sulthama had previously supplied drugs to the two actors.
She is also reportedly close to Sowmya, a woman model who has connections with the film industry.
Sowmya was interrogated on Monday as well.
Drug source
Hybrid 'ganja' brought from Bangkok for distribution in Kerala
The hybrid ganja seized, worth around ₹2 crore, was grown in Bangkok, Thailand, and smuggled into Kerala for distribution, especially in the film and tourism sectors.
The drug was first brought to Tiruchirappalli before being moved to Ernakulam and then to Omanapuzha for storage and distribution.
Feroze is said to have supplied the drugs to persons in the tourism sector in Alappuzha.
Criminal history
Sulthama's criminal history and involvement in drug trade
A minor character actor, Sulthama aka Christina (43), has a long history of drug and sex trafficking, racketeering. According to The Hindu, she was arrested in a Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) case and also spent some time in Tihar jail in 2017 in a gold smuggling case.
An Excise official said, "Thasleema and her husband are involved in multiple illegal activities such as gold smuggling, operating a sex racket and ganja trade."
Investigation progress
Earlier this month, Chacko was questioned in different drug probe
The investigation is being headed by Excise Assistant Commissioner S. Ashok Kumar. The Excise officials have recommended that the investigation of hawala and gold smuggling be entrusted to central agencies.
Notably, this comes after Chacko fled a hotel in the middle of the night after Kerala Police raided it in connection with a separate drug case.
Following this, he was taken into custody and questioned for over four hours.
Related case
Filmmakers were arrested for possessing hybrid 'ganja' recently
This is not all. On Sunday, film directors Khalid Rahman and Ashraf Hamsa were arrested on the charge of possessing suspected hybrid ganja.
During a pre-dawn raid, the Excise Department arrested the Malayalam film industry members from an apartment in Kochi with 1.5g of the contraband.
While Rahman has directed movies like Alappuzha Gymkhana, Hamsa is known for Bheemante Vazhi.
Rahman was also part of the hit Manjummel Boys.