Coimbatore : Seven persons involved in ganja trade and lodged in the Central Jail here were detained under Goondas Act on Friday.

Based on a tip off, police arrested them while they were packing ganja near a commercial complex at Codissia in the city on October 29 and seized 110 kg of the stuff and two vehicles from them.

On apprehension that the accused if released would make students slaves of ganja and other narcotic substances, police Commissioner Sumit Saran on Friday ordered their detention under Goondas Act.

Those detained are Shaktivel, his sister Eswari and Ashok from Madurai, Gokulakrishnan, Mohammed Rafiq, Praveen and Dinesh Babu from Coimbatore.

Search was on for three others – Shaktivel, Muthulakshmi and Mujibur Rahman – said to be the brain behind the business, police said.