Police officer on the run for ‘stealing’ seized tobacco products nabbed from Ernakulam

A special police team has taken into custody another police officer who has been on the run for the past 10 days after reportedly stealing seven bags of seized banned tobacco products from the Sulthan Bathery Police Station in Keralam’s Wayanad district.According to sources, senior civil police officer Sabith was detained in Kalamassery in Ernakulam district on Sunday (September 20, 2026) morning. He had been untraceable after the alleged theft was reported on September 10. Mr. Sabith was also suspended from service.Though the special team had earlier located his mobile phone in Ernakulam district, he could not be traced because he kept on moving from one place to another. He was intercepted in Kalamassery after a tip-off on Sunday (September 20, 2026), the sources said.Mr. Sabith would be taken to Sultan Bathery, where he will be interrogated before being produced before a magistrate as part of the remand procedure, it is learnt.The seven bags of banned tobacco products were seized from a person at Dhottappankulam near Sultan Bathery on June 7. They were kept at the police station following directions from a magistrate court. When officials inspected the room on September 10, it was found that the seized products had been missing.Subsequently, a case of theft was registered. During the investigation, the officials found that the lock of the evidence room was intact. This indicated that a key had been used to access the room. When CCTV footage was examined, it was found that Mr. Sabith allegedly entered the room and removed the products. Published - September 20, 2026 02:58 pm IST