Alappuzha: After a three -month long long -lasting surveillance operation, Kerala Excise officials arrested Tsalem Sultana, an important person in the state’s drug trade. During interrogation, Sultana allegedly revealed that prominent Malayalam film actors Shine Tom Chacko and Srinath Bhai were among their customers.
Acting on a tip-off, Excise officials took Sultana and her partner into custody from a resort near Alappuzha on Tuesday night. Operation led the seizure of hybrid cannabis worth about Rs 2 crore in the open market.
Officers had been monitoring Sultana’s movements for months, identifying it as a major supplier of drugs from Chennai in Kerala.
Deputy Commissioner of Excise S. Vinod Kumar said, “We had been gathering intelligence information on her for three months. She finally got into our trap.”
He confirmed that Sultana had close ties with the Malayalam film industry and had revealed several names, including Chacko and Bhasi.
From Kannur, Sultana is mainly operated from Chennai, often traveling to Kochi and Alappuzha, which officials believe, serve as a major hub for their distribution network.
Over the years, he developed strong relations with the Malayalam film industry, using his contacts to secure modest acting roles in some films.
Investigators suspect that this helped them establish a relationship with the actors, including those who reportedly purchased drugs from her.
While excise officials have confirmed that Chacko and Bhai were named, they have been fed up about their other potential customers. Sultana’s mobile phone has been confiscated, and the authorities are analyzing its data for more leads.
This is not the first brush of Sultana with the law. He has a previous record, first arrested for joining a sex racket.
Actor Shine Tom Chacko, Bhi, was a controversial past. In 2015, he was arrested with four models for the capture of cocaine, but was acquitted a decade later due to lack of evidence.
Meanwhile, Srinath Bhasi was questioned last year regarding an intoxicating drugs and psychotropic substances (NDP) case associated with alleged gangster Om Prakash.
With Sultana in custody, Excise officials have initiated a detailed investigation to highlight the entire range of operations.
