A college teacher is among four people arrested in connection with an alleged MDMA distribution network in Kerala’s Malappuram district, with police investigating the network’s extent and possible links to students and educational institutions, as reported in NDTV.
The arrested teacher has been identified as Suhail Peringodan, who works at MES Mampad College. The other three accused have been identified as Reena TN, Vivek Vijayan and Subrahmanyan.
According to the police, the case came to light after they recovered 0.4 grams of MDMA and 0.5 grams of cannabis from Subrahmanyan. The subsequent investigation reportedly led officers to Suhail.
Police said that although the quantity recovered from Subrahmanyan was relatively small, their investigation indicated that the group was allegedly involved in the distribution of larger quantities of MDMA. Investigators are now examining the wider network and are also probing whether there was a connection between the accused teacher and students.
According to the police, Suhail had allegedly been regularly supplying MDMA to Vivek and Reena, who were suspected of being involved in distributing the drug further.
Investigators are particularly examining allegations that MDMA was being supplied to students in Nilambur and surrounding areas. Police are probing the network’s reach and attempting to establish the identities of other people who may have been involved.
The arrest has also drawn attention because it comes only weeks after three women teachers were arrested in a separate MDMA case in Vadakara, Kozhikode district.
In that case, KC Keerthana, K Kavya and VP Neeshma, who were associated with the Perambra Block Resource Centre, were arrested following a joint investigation by the District Anti-Narcotics Special Action Force (DANSAF) and the Kozhikode Rural Police under Operation Toofan.
Police had alleged that the Vadakara network used QR-code payments and concealed locations known as “dead drops” to distribute MDMA. Investigators had also reportedly traced transactions involving lakhs of rupees.
The three teachers were subsequently terminated from service.
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