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Udupi: The Manipal police have arrested three individuals, including two men from Kerala, for allegedly supplying ganja and LSD to engineering students and industrial workers in the Manipal region.
The crackdown began after six migrant workers from Kerala were questioned over suspected drug use. Laboratory reports confirmed that four of them — Ajeesh, Vipin, Bipin, and Akhil — had consumed ganja. The workers reportedly named Mithun as their supplier.
Acting on the information, a team led by Inspector Mahesh Prasad raided a house near Narasinge Temple Road in Herga village on the night of August 16.
Police arrested Afshin (26) of Varkala, Thiruvananthapuram, and Shivanidhi Acharya (20) of Shivalli, Udupi taluk. The raid resulted in the seizure of 1.237 kg of ganja, 0.038 g of LSD strips, plastic covers, a digital weighing scale, Rs 2,000 in cash, and two mobile phones. A case was registered at the Manipal police station.
Further investigation revealed that the four workers had indeed consumed ganja, and separate consumption cases were booked against them. On August 17, PSI Akshaya Kumari led another raid at a flat in Vidyarathna Nagar, Manipal, where Maneesh (34) of Kasaragod, Kerala, was staying. Police seized 653 g of ganja, two weighing scales, a ganja crusher, Rs 3,000, and a mobile phone from the flat.
All three arrested were produced in court and remanded in judicial custody. Police said Afshin, a former Ayurveda college student, had earlier been booked in 2023 for selling MDMA in Manipal, while Maneesh had a prior ganja-related case in Bekal, Kerala.
Afshin reportedly targeted engineering students and migrant workers, Shivanidhi supplied drugs to college students and local youth, while Maneesh, a welder, catered mainly to industrial labourers.
Udupi SP Hariram Shankar had recently ordered random tests on students and workers in industries for drug consumption. Accordingly, the random tests were conducted.