The Ramanathapuram District Police’s Anti-Narcotics Task Force (ANTF) has dismantled a methamphetamine syndicate, seized nearly 1.4 kg of methamphetamine valued at approximately ₹1.50 crore, busted a meth manufacturing lab and apprehended the mastermind.

Ramanathapuram Superintendent of Police G. Chandeesh, during a press meet here on Friday, said, as per the instructions of the Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay, various State-level special operations were being carried out against narcotics offenders and sellers.

NIA searches 13 locations in Tamil Nadu and Mizoram after meth seizure

“As part of this operation, the Ramanathapuram district ANTF team dismantled a major drug trafficking network,” he said, adding that the operation led to the seizure of around 1.4 kg of methamphetamine, raw materials used to manufacture the drug, including 1.9 kg of pseudoephedrine, 5 kg of red phosphorus, 4.8 kg of iodine, besides acids, reagents and thinners. The police also unearthed a meth manufacturing lab, seized laboratory equipment and arrested nine key operatives, including the mastermind..

He added that the operation commenced on July 27, 2026, at around 5 pm when the Ramanathapuram ANTF team, acting on credible intelligence, conducted a targeted operation near Municipal water tank in the district.

Mr. Chandeesh stated that the team apprehended Jabeesh, 25, a resident of Chetticharvalasai, Marthandam, who was working in Ramanathapuram and during the search, officers recovered one gram of meth from his possession.

Further interrogation of Jabeesh revealed that he had procured the contraband from Muhammed Umarul Jameen, 22, and Mohammed Aslam, 22. Acting swiftly, Mr. Chandeesh said, the ANTF team raided their residence at Pallivasal Street in Karikoottam, arrested both of them and seized an additional eight grams of methamphetamine.

Further questioning of Jameen and Aslam exposed a larger supply line originating from Shiek Muhammed, 38, of Kathar Pitchai Street in Ilayangudi, Sivagangai District. As the task force confirmed his presence, they apprehended him and recovered a consignment of 120 gram of meth.

“During interrogation, Shiek Muhammed disclosed that the shipment had been arranged through Habeebur Rahuman, 52, of Ilayangudi. Following this lead, the team arrested Habeebur Rahuman, Sikkandar Bathursa, 53, and Jamal Moideen, 60, and seized 300 grams, 100 grams and 180 grams of methamphetamine from them, respectively, breaking the network’s local distribution chain,” Mr. Chandeesh elaborated.

Under intense questioning, he said that the accused confessed that the principal mastermind and chief supplier behind the trafficking ring was Shahul Hameed, a resident of Ilayangudi who operated a leather business in Chennai.

“He procures the raw materials for the preparation of the contraband and sends them to Zahir Hussain in Ilayankudi. Zahir Hussain, along with two others, prepared the contraband in a meth manufacturing lab hidden in a lathe workshop owned by Zahir Hussain,” he said.

With this information, the team searched the premises and found 670 grams of meth and raw materials used to manufacture the meth, namely pseudoephedrine, red phosphorus, iodine, other acids, reagents and thinners along with lab instruments.

Including the seizure, the overall quantity of seized meth was 1.37 kg.

“As the whole network is being tracked, two more accused are under enquiry,” Mr. Chandeesh said.

Published – July 31, 2026 08:09 pm IST

A view of Katchatheevu in Sri Lanka.
| Photo Credit: The Hindu

Katchatheevu islet, a part of Sri Lanka and located about 14 nautical miles from Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu, is back in the limelight for the wrong reasons.

On February 17, fishermen associations in Ramanathapuram district announced that they were boycotting the annual two-day festival, scheduled for February 23 and 24, at the St. Anthony’s Church in the uninhabited islet. Every year, this event brings together the people from both sides of the Palk Bay separating India and Sri Lanka. The fisherfolk also announced that they would observe an indefinite strike. These decisions were a mark of protest against the Sri Lankan government’s continuing arrests of Indian fishermen on charges of poaching.

Shift in approach

Though the response of the Sri Lankan authorities is not new, there seems to be a shift in the way the island nation’s judiciary treats those accused of poaching. In February, Sri Lankan Navy personnel arrested 42 fishermen belonging to Rameswaram and Thangachimadam in Ramanathapuram, as well as other regions in India, in two separate incidents. A Sri Lankan court sentenced five of those fishermen to prison terms of between six months and two years, for the repeat offence of poaching. While ordering the release of the rest, the court warned that they would have to serve a jail term if they were caught again. “The fishing community of Ramanathapuram district was shocked by this,” said fisher leader P. Jesu Raja.

According to one version, the original shrine of the Church was built by the Ramnad Diocese more than 100 years ago. As per the Sri Lankan Navy records, it was constructed in 1901. Though it was taken over by the Jaffna diocese after India ceded Katchatheevu to Sri Lanka in 1974, the two countries organise the festival together. In recent years, people from other States such as Karnataka have also been attending it.

Explained | The Katchatheevu controversy

Over the last 15-odd years, it has been a practice for the Church authorities to extend an invitation to the Verkodu parish, which, in turn, seeks applications from pilgrims. On producing valid documents, pilgrims are allowed to cross the Palk Strait using trawlers. Their actions are monitored by Central and State agencies such as the Customs and the Police. Apart from exchanging pleasantries and gifts, pilgrims from both sides also pray for improved relations between the two countries.

This year, the agitating fishermen and their families in Ramanathapuram argued that it wouldn’t be fair for them to participate in a festival held in Sri Lanka when their own “brothers” were in jail in the neighbouring country. They were staying away from the celebrations to show solidarity, they said.

Whenever fishermen from Tamil Nadu are arrested in Sri Lanka, India’s High Commission in Colombo and Consulate in Jaffna provide consular and legal assistance to the imprisoned fishermen and work towards their early release. New Delhi has been asking Colombo to treat the fishermen issue as “a purely humanitarian and livelihood concern.” It says both sides should ensure that force is not used under any circumstance. Even though the Sri Lankan authorities release the fishermen as a matter of routine, they do not return the impounded fishing vessels. The Ramanathapuram fishermen believe that this adds insult to injury. This time too, vessels were impounded and not returned.

Resolving the issue

For about 10 years, the fishermen have been hoping that their issue will get resolved. Sushma Swaraj, as External Affairs Minister, had even organised a high-level meeting of fishermen from both the countries to work out a solution. “But this could not deliver results fully due to various political developments,” Mr. Jesu Raja said.

Now, sections of the fisherfolk expect the Indian government to impress upon the Sri Lankan government to allow fishing activity in Katchatheevu, as was the practice in the past, and also retrieve the islet since the population of fishermen in Sri Lanka who depend on the Palk Bay is smaller compared to those from Tamil Nadu. But the Central government, which assured Sri Lanka that it would abolish bottom trawlers in a phased manner, hopes that the fishermen will diversify their activities to include deep sea fishing, seaweed cultivation, and open sea cage cultivation. If the fishermen are to do this. the deep-sea fishing scheme, which has been a non-starter so far, will have to be revised with liberal norms to ensure greater participation.