Kerala’s Drug Bust Bombshell! Woman Peddler’s Arrest Unveils Film Industry Links

A seismic shockwave hit Kerala’s Malayalam film industry this week as Tasleem Sultana, a woman arrested for drug peddling, dropped names allegedly tying prominent actors to her narcotics network.

Nabbed Tuesday night after a three-month sting by Kerala Excise officials, Sultana’s interrogation has sparked an intensified probe into the shadowy intersection of cinema and crime. The operation, which unfolded at a resort near Alappuzha, netted hybrid ganja worth Rs 2 crore and thrust the spotlight on alleged industry insiders.

Excise Deputy Commissioner S. Vinod Kumar revealed that Sultana, a Chennai-based supplier with roots in Kannur, fingered actors Shine Tom Chacko and Sreenath Bhasi as clients. "We’d been tracking her for months," Kumar said. "She fell into our trap, and now she’s talking—naming names with close ties to Mollywood."

Sultana, who reportedly used minor acting gigs to infiltrate film circles, is suspected of funneling drugs from Chennai to hubs like Kochi and Alappuzha, catering to a clientele that included tourism and entertainment elites.

The allegations aren’t new for Chacko and Bhasi. Chacko faced cocaine possession charges in 2015, later acquitted, while Bhasi was questioned last year in a drug case linked to gangster Om Prakash. With Sultana in custody, authorities have launched a sprawling investigation to map her network’s reach. "This is just the beginning," Kumar hinted, as the probe zeroes in on the Kerala film industry’s underbelly. As of today, the scandal threatens to unravel more than just a drug ring—it’s a script twist Mollywood didn’t see coming.