VARKALA: Two youths were arrested by the District Anti-Narcotics Special Action Force (DANSF) in Varkala with 8.5 kg ganja. Nihas (33) of Aliyar Mansil, Mangalapuram, and Vignesh (24) of Karingarapalli Karakkad House, Palakkad, were arrested. The ganja was brought from Chennai to Varkala via train in four plastic coves hidden inside grease barrel.

The two men were caught from platform 2 of Varkala station. They arrived on the Chennai-Thiruvananthapuram mail at 10.30 am. The plan was to buy ganja from Andhra Pradesh at a low price and bring it to Varkala and sell it at a huge profit. The police said that they have close links with the drug racket. The youths had been under surveillance for months. The DANSAF team said the seized ganja was worth more than Rs 5 lakh in the market. The youths were produced in the court and remanded.