Kochi: Mohammed Anoop, a native of Vennala in Kochi who has been arrested by the central Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) in a drugs case in Bengaluru, was involved in the sale of 200 acres of real estate in Munnar, he has said in his statement to the agency.

According to the statement, film personalities from Kerala were involved in the deal that took place after demonetisation. They made the payment in several phases.

Many people got together to buy the land in the name of one Sameer. A close friend of gold smuggling case accused K T Ramees had also invested money in the deal.

Anoop said he did not receive the commission in full due to differences among investors over resale of the land. He started a new business in Bengaluru with the money he got initially, he said.

The land deal in Munnar came to light during a detailed interrogation to find those who had invested money for Anoop in his multi-crore drug dealing in Bengaluru and Kochi.

The NCB has sought the help of central intelligence agencies to verify the authenticity of his statements. The Kochi unit of the NCB has also launched an investigation.

The NCB's Bengaluru unit has collected details of the filmmakers who were involved in drug dealing with Anoop in Kochi.

Officials said more details in the case will emerge once Anoop and his accomplice Rijesh Raveendran, who has also been arrested, are questioned further with the help of officials from the Kochi unit.

One more arrest

The Narcotics Control Bureau has made one more arrest in connection with the Bengaluru drug case.

F Mohammed, 30, a native of Goa, is the fourth person to be arrested in the case. He is a driver in a resort in Calangute in Goa.

The NCB said it has found evidence that he delivered a large quantity of drugs from Goa to Bangalore.

Mohammed said the drugs were meant for film personalities.

Bineesh's financial aid for restaurant

According to Anoop's statement in his remand report, he started supplying drugs to African students after he arrived in Bengaluru in 2013.

"I started the restaurant in 2015. Bineesh (Bineesh Kodiyeri) was the one who provided the financial assistance for the restaurant. I sold the restaurant to another group in 2018 due to a crisis. I opened a hotel at the beginning of this year but suffered losses due to the COVID pandemic. That is when I started dealing in drugs again," Anoop said in his statement.

When his clothes business in Kochi failed, Bineesh Kodiyeri helped him as a close friend, Anoop said.

As a gesture of thanks, he launched shirts under the brand BK-47, an acronym of Bineesh Kodiyeri's name.

He got into drug dealing when his clothes business and later his hotel failed, Anoop said in his confessional statement. He also said that his relatives and close friends, including Bineesh, were not aware of his drug dealings.