Freed From Saudi Jail After Blood Money, Kerala Man Held in Meth Racket

A Kerala man who returned from Saudi Arabia after securing his release through the payment of Rs 80 lakh in blood money has been arrested for allegedly heading an interstate methamphetamine trafficking network operating from Iritty in Kannur district. Fazaluddin T. (45) , a native of Karikottakkari, was arrested on July 14 following an investigation that police say exposed a wider narcotics supply chain linking Bengaluru and Kerala .

According to police, Fazaluddin was arrested in Saudi Arabia in 2006 for allegedly murdering Ashraf (23) , a native of Mangaluru, while working there as a taxi driver. He was released in 2016 after voluntary organisations raised Rs 80 lakh through a public fundraising campaign and paid the compensation under Saudi Arabia's blood money provisions.

After returning to India, he moved to Bengaluru and worked at a tea shop. In 2023, Bengaluru police arrested him for allegedly possessing around 50 kg of ganja . Investigators allege that during his incarceration, he established links with major drug syndicates. Released in January 2026 , he returned to Iritty and took up work at a relative's eatery while allegedly expanding a meth distribution network.

Police said the investigation began after the June 22 arrest of an Iritty resident, Denny Abraham , with methamphetamine. Examination of call records, financial transactions and surveillance allegedly led investigators to Fazaluddin, whom they describe as the network's kingpin. Police will seek his custody to identify other operatives, trace supply routes and dismantle the wider interstate narcotics network.