Published Jun 07, 2026 | 12:05 PM ⚊ Updated Jun 07, 2026 | 12:05 PM
Police found 400 grams of packed ganja concealed in the cooker along with rice.
A pressure cooker let off steam with a long whistle, and led an alleged ganja peddler to the clink in Kerala’s Thrissur district on Saturday, 6 June.
The escape plan seemed perfect for Thengikal resident Bineesh, 40, until the cooker, obviously oblivious to the grand design, whistled.
Bineesh cannot blame the cooker, for the unassuming and ubiquitous utensil in Indian kitchens did what it was supposed to do under the mechanics of steam release.
It all began with a routine police search on Bineesh’s residence as part of Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala’s pet anti-drug drive, Operation Toofan. A tipoff had led Kunnamkulam Sub-Inspector Rakesh and team to Bineesh’s place.
Also Read: ‘Toofan’ to flatten drug menace
The search did not yield anything unusual. The household was perfect, and the kitchen was busy as it would be in any other house. A pressure cooker was on the stove, readying rice for lunch. Questioning Bineesh, too, did not reveal anything suspicious.
Even as the police team was vigorously searching the house for the contraband, pressure was building up in the cooker. Still, Bineesh looked nonchalant, unaware of what was in store for him.
Police were about to leave the house, cursing the “false” tipoff, when the steam found the vent tube. The vent weight — or the pressure regulator — lifted a bit without offering resistance, and the steam escaped from the cooker with a whistle.
Along with the aroma of cooked rice, the police smelt something not all are familiar with: a slightly weedy, piney ‘skunk’ scent. The investigators immediately realised the tip-off was correct.
At that moment, Bineesh — already facing two criminal cases, one for opening fire at an excise inspector — realised that his perfect plan had gone up in flames along with the escaped steam.
The officers soon found 400 grams of packed ganja concealed in the cooker along with rice. Bineesh had no other choice but to throw his hands up.
And what happened to the cooker that worked perfectly? It is now in police custody and will be produced in court.
‘Operation Toofan: The Narco Hunt’ was launched on 1 June, coinciding with the reopening of schools after the summer vacation. In six days since its launch, police have registered 231 and arrested 241 persons for possessing or trafficking narcotic substances.
The seizures included 110 grams of MDMA, 15.591 kilograms of cannabis and 149 cannabis bidis.
Authorities have urged the public to share information related to drug trafficking through police helplines and WhatsApp numbers, 9497979794, 9497927797 or WhatsApp 9995966666. Police have assured complete confidentiality.
