Idukki: A team comprising police and the District Anti-Narcotics Special Action Force (DANSAF) arrested a local panchayat member and two migrant workers after seizing over 7 kg of ganja from a shop in Erattayar town on Saturday.

The arrested panchayat member, A S Ratheesh, a Congress leader and the 9th ward representative of Erattayar Panchayat, owns the shop from where the contraband was recovered. Police found 7.090 kilograms of ganja in two separate packets in the shop premises.

Apart from Ratheesh, the police detained two shop workers, Sameer Behera and Lucky Nayak, both natives of Odisha. The incident occurred around 3.30 pm. According to police, Lucky Nayak had recently arrived in Kattappana and allegedly handed over the ganja to his friend Sameer. Ratheesh has claimed he was unaware of the presence of ganja in his shop.

Police also confirmed that Ratheesh holds a leadership position in the Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC) in Erattayar.

The operation was conducted under the supervision of Idukki SP by a team led by the DANSAF. The team included Nedumkandam Circle Inspector Jerlin V Skaria, Sub-Inspectors Aby George, Mahesh Kumar, Abhijith M S, and Deji S, along with Civil Police Officers Biju K M, Anoop K A, Danny Thomas, Ralfs Sebastian, and Bibin Mathew.