Over 10,500 gelatin sticks and detonators were seized from a lorry carrying onions at Chemmad in Malappuram district of Kerala on Saturday (February 7, 2026), the police said.
The police have taken a woman, who owns the lorry, into custody, an officer said.
According to the police, around 245 boxes containing over 10,500 gelatin sticks, detonators and wires were recovered from the lorry parked at a bricks manufacturing unit.
Officials at the Tirurangadi police station said the lorry had reached the unit late Friday night.
Following a tip-off, the police reached the spot, after which the people who were unloading the goods from the lorry fled.
Later on Saturday morning, the police unloaded the consignment and found boxes containing detonators, gelatin sticks and wires concealed among the bags of onions.
Police officials said the quantification process has been completed, and a case will be registered soon.
Illegal mining suspected
The police said the woman taken into custody also runs a quarry, and it is suspected that the detonators and gelatin sticks were brought for use in illegal mining activities.
An officer said the explosives were brought from outside Kerala, and an investigation has been launched to trace their source.
On February 4, police had seized 18,000 gelatin sticks and 4,200 detonators concealed among watermelons loaded in a pick-up van at Kadamkode in Palakkad.
Published – February 07, 2026 03:07 pm IST
