Award-winning farmer arrested for drug trafficking under guise of banana cultivation

Ernakulam Rural Police have arrested a 31-year-old award-winning farmer for operating a drug network under the cover of an agricultural business. Dhanesh S. Nair, known as 'Dani' and a resident of Haripad in Alappuzha district, has been apprehended. According to the police, 803 grams of suspected hashish oil and 8 grams of suspected MDMA were seized from him on Monday (November 9, 2026).

According to a report by The Hindu, this arrest followed the apprehension of 32-year-old Harikrishna K.S. from Palluruthy, Kochi. Harikrishna was caught with 185 grams of suspected MDMA at a lodge in Aluva. During the investigation of this case, the police probe team reached Dhanesh Nair. The accused currently resides near Nanjangud in Mysuru. A special investigation team led by District Police Chief (Ernakulam Rural) K.S. Sudarshan intercepted and arrested him upon his arrival in Angamaly.

Police suspect that the accused was trafficking drugs under the pretext of banana cultivation in Nanjangud. He had trained members of his network on how to conceal drugs inside banana bunches. Police recovered videos from the accused's mobile phone in which he is seen explaining methods of hiding drugs in banana bunches. These bunches were then sent to Kerala under the guise of agricultural produce.

Furthermore, he had recruited youths for the transport and distribution of drugs in and around Bengaluru. Subsequently, these narcotics were brought to Kerala and distributed among local suppliers and customers. In this matter, police had previously arrested 34-year-old Shinu Sebastian of Thoppumpady, from whom 7 grams of suspected MDMA were recovered. According to police sources, both Harikrishna and Shinu Sebastian were trafficking drugs via social media as per the instructions of Dhanesh Nair.

Regarding Dhanesh Nair's background, he pursued higher education in agribusiness in Germany between 2015 and 2018. He returned to India during the floods that hit Kerala in 2018 and subsequently entered the farming business. Due to his work in the agricultural sector, he was presented with a government award for the best young farmer in Haripad in 2022.