The Tamil Nadu police is on a high alert after it was confirmed that Sri Lankan gangster and drug lord Mohamed Najim Mohamed Imran alias ‘Kanjipani’ Imran had entered the state from Rameswaram.

Imran, a notorious criminal, who was wanted in many cases of heinous crime like murder and criminal intimidation was arrested in Dubai in 2019 and deported to Sri Lanka.

His escape to India comes after he got bail from a local court.

Tamil Nadu police had a specific intelligence input from central agencies that Imran planned to sneak into the state after getting bail but failed to prevent his entry.

He is believed to be close to Haji Salim, a Pakistani drug mafia who was connected to the nine people arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) recently for using proceeds from drug-running across the high seas to revive the terrorist organization Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

In March 2021, near Kerala’s Vizhinjam port, the Indian defense forces had intercepted a boat that contained 300 kg of heroin, five AK-47 machine guns, and 1,000 rounds of 9 mm bullets. The nine arrested persons were connected to this case.

Most of them including their leader, C Gunasekharan had Sri Lankan addresses.

Imran is not the first Sri Lankan gangster to sneak into India. Before him, gangster Angoda Lokka had sneaked in and managed to stay in Coimbatore under the false name of Pradeep Singh. His identity was revealed only after he was found murdered and a DNA test was conducted.

Reacting to the news of Imran sneaking into India, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state president K Annamalai trained his guns on the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) government and the state's intelligence department.

He said that the failure of the intelligence department had made Tamil Nadu into a haven for drug smugglers. According to him, instead of focusing on the security of the state, the department was busy in collecting information about political opponents.

Recently, Rs 360 crore worth cocaine was seized near Rameswaram from DMK councillor Sarbraz Nawaz and his brother. They had planned to smuggle the drug into Sri Lanka by using a fishing boat.

Tamil Nadu intelligence department

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