Six detained after drug suspects clash at Kuttiady station

Six people were taken into custody after two groups suspected of drug trafficking drove into Kuttiady police station in Kozhikode district and clashed early on Monday.

The confrontation occurred at approximately 2 am on October 26, when the groups arrived in separate cars and began fighting within the police station premises. Officers intervened as the dispute escalated and brought the participants under control.

Police subsequently searched the vehicles and recovered MDMA, a synthetic drug, and ganja from one of the cars. The seizure prompted an investigation into the suspects’ activities as well as the circumstances that brought both groups to the police station at the same time.

Among those detained was Albin Sebastian, whom investigators suspect of playing a prominent role in a drug trafficking group. Police information indicated that he already faces a case registered at Vellayil police station. That earlier case does not establish his guilt in the Kuttiady incident.

Additional officers were called to control the confrontation, which unfolded inside the compound rather than at an undisclosed location elsewhere in the town. The unusual setting meant that police could intervene at the scene and immediately inspect a vehicle associated with the participants.

Investigators have yet to establish publicly why the two groups entered the station compound or what triggered their confrontation. Whether the altercation arose from a dispute over drug transactions, money or another matter remains an investigative question, rather than a confirmed explanation.

The number of people taken into custody was given as six in accounts of the police action on Monday. An initial account placed the number at three and identified two other detainees as Amaljith and Albin, both from the Perambra area. The difference in the reported totals has not been clarified through a publicly available formal custody statement.

The same account identified Sebastian as a resident of Peruvannamuzhi and put the seizure at nine grams of MDMA and 10.5 grams of ganja. Those quantities could not be independently reconciled with the broader police information available on Monday, which confirmed the discovery of both substances but did not consistently specify their weights.

The police are examining the relationship between the groups and whether individuals beyond those detained had any connection with the alleged trafficking activity. Their inquiry also concerns the events immediately before the two cars entered the compound and the circumstances surrounding the suspected drugs found during the search.

It remained unclear whether all six were to be formally arrested under drug control provisions, booked in connection with the altercation, or released after questioning. Detention for questioning and formal arrest are distinct procedural steps, and the status of individual suspects requires confirmation from the investigating officers.

Police had not publicly provided a complete list of the detainees, details of any injuries or an explanation of why the confrontation moved onto station property. No verified account established whether either vehicle had been pursued by police before arriving at the compound.

The recovery of MDMA and ganja is central to the investigation, but possession, ownership and knowledge of the seized material must be determined separately for each suspect. The presence of drugs in a vehicle does not by itself establish that every occupant participated in trafficking. No confirmed account established which group had brought the vehicle in which the substances were discovered.

Officers will also need to document the seizure and determine who controlled the vehicle containing the substances. Those findings would be material to any allegations brought under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, depending on the evidence established during the investigation.

The incident has drawn attention because the suspected participants brought their dispute to the grounds of an operating police station, where officers were able to intervene directly. The immediate police response prevented the confrontation from continuing inside the compound, although the circumstances leading to it remain unconfirmed.

Kuttiady police said an investigation had begun. Authorities had not disclosed a verified motive for the fight or provided a detailed account of the sequence of events involving each vehicle by the time the initial information emerged.

The earlier case linked to Sebastian is registered at Vellayil police station, while the inquiry into Monday’s confrontation is being handled by Kuttiady police.