Special education teachers arrested: Kozhikode rural police target more suspects in drug trafficking case

The Kozhikode Rural Police have identified other suspects, including teachers, who were said to be in frequent contact with two female special education teachers attached to the Perambra Block Resource Center (BRC), who were recently arrested in connection with a major drug-trafficking case.

Police sources said that bank transaction details and call detail records (CDR) of several suspects from Perambra, Kuttiyadi and Nadapuram have been collected as part of the ongoing investigation. They also said more teachers were placed under the scanner based on newly collected digital evidence and statements from two arrested special education teachers.

KC Keerthana of Maruthongara and her boyfriend K Kavya of Koorachund were recently arrested by the anti-narcotics squad after they collected digital evidence indicating their alleged role in facilitating financial transactions for drug makers. Police sources said it was found that the bank accounts of the two women were receiving money from drug addicts across the state.

Following the police action, the Samagra Shiksha Kerala authorities last week terminated the contractual appointments of Keerthana, who worked as a physical education instructor, and Kavya, who provided training support to children with special needs. Perambra BRC sources said the disciplinary action was taken immediately after the arrest. They also claimed that no one knew about the two instructors’ alleged links to drug traffickers.

A senior drug squad officer said the two instructors were suspected of maintaining close contact with a group of students in an attempt to expand their network of carriers in the drug trade. “During the initial investigation itself, it was found that both the instructors were directly involved in sharing the delivery points with the drug buyers after receiving the payments,” the officer said.

The investigation team also dismissed claims circulating in some quarters that the arrested instructors were merely “scapegoats with no direct link to the alleged drug smuggling network”. The two were arrested after several weeks of monitoring and verifying numerous records of transactions and communications on social media, police said. They added that a more intensive search is underway to nab the leaders of the drug network.

Some student organization activists from Perambra, who reportedly gave statements to the police, alleged that complaints were lodged against one of the arrested special instructors for smoking during training. They also claimed that no action was taken on the complaints. According to them, the arrested instructors also participated in various anti-drug campaigns.

Published – 27 Jul 2026 18:55 IST