Archive · 23 Aug 2026
Kerala Home Minister Rebuts Claims Over Muslim District Drug Arrests
Kerala is running an anti-drug operation called Operation Toofan.
Some right-wing media reports said Malappuram had the most drug arrests.
Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala disagreed with that comparison.
He said some police areas must be combined to compare districts fairly.
On that basis, Ernakulam had the most arrests, followed by Kozhikode and Malappuram.
He also said more arrests do not necessarily mean a district has a worse drug problem.
Arrest numbers can show that police are finding more cases and people are sharing information.
The main goal is to find drug sellers and stop drugs from reaching young people.
Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala rejected claims that Muslim-majority Malappuram had the highest number of drug arrests.
He said geographically comparable figures put Ernakulam first with 1,393 arrests, followed by Kozhikode with 1,373 and Malappuram with 999.
Kozhikode recorded the highest number of cases, with 1,327, according to the minister.
Operation Toofan has produced 10,015 arrests and 9,280 cases across Kerala, alongside thousands of awareness programmes.
Chennithala said the operation’s goal is to identify drug sources, disrupt supply networks and protect young people—not rank districts.
- Who
- Kerala Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala and Kerala Police are involved; right-wing media reports were challenged.
- What
- Chennithala disputed claims about Malappuram’s drug-arrest ranking and described the aims and results of Operation Toofan.
- When
- He made the comments in posts on X on Saturday evening; the operation’s reported figures are described as current so far.
- Where
- Across Kerala, including Ernakulam, Kozhikode and Malappuram.
- Why
- He said district comparisons were potentially misleading and that the operation is intended to identify sources, disrupt supply networks and make Kerala safer.
Minister’s Evidence-Based Account
Right-Wing Media Claim
District with the most arrests
Minister’s Evidence-Based Account
Ramesh Chennithala said Malappuram should not be presented as the leading district when City and Rural police units are counted consistently. He gave Ernakulam, Kozhikode and Malappuram totals of 1,393, 1,373 and 999 arrests respectively.
Right-Wing Media Claim
Right-wing media reports said Muslim-dominated Malappuram had recorded the highest number of arrests.
Meaning of arrest figures
Minister’s Evidence-Based Account
The minister said higher arrest or case numbers can reflect police detection, enforcement and information from citizens, rather than a district being worse or its residents having worse character.
Right-Wing Media Claim
The reports interpreted the arrest figures as evidence relevant to the drug problem in Malappuram.
Purpose of Operation Toofan
Minister’s Evidence-Based Account
Chennithala said the operation is not intended to top arrest charts; its objective is to identify drug sources, break supply networks and prevent narcotics from reaching young people.
Right-Wing Media Claim
The disputed media framing focused on district arrest rankings rather than the operation’s broader enforcement objective.
- Operation
- Operation Toofan
- Total arrests
- 10,015 across Kerala
- Total cases
- 9,280 across Kerala
- Highest comparable arrest figure
- Ernakulam, with 1,393 arrests
- Other comparable arrest figures
- Kozhikode had 1,373 arrests and Malappuram had 999
- Highest case figure
- Kozhikode, with 1,327 cases
- Awareness efforts
- 9,147 awareness classes and 6,561 School and College Protection Group programmes