MDMA trail reaches classroom: college teacher held in Keralam’s Nilambur

A college teacher accused of selling MDMA to students was arrested at Nilambur in Malappuram district of Keralam, raising fresh concerns over drugs finding their way into educational institutions through people who are supposed to protect youngsters.

Suhail Peringodan, a part-time statistics teacher at Dr. Gafoor Memorial MES Mampad College, Mampad, was arrested on Thursday (September 17, 2026) after a drugs investigation at Nilambur led the police to him as a regular supplier of MDMA to students and others.

Three arrested earlier

The investigation began with the arrest of Reena T.N., Vivek Vijayan and Subramanian by a police team led by sub-inspector Arshid K.M. acting on a tip-off. The police seized 0.4 g of MDMA and 0.5 g of ganja from Subramanian.

During questioning, the police reportedly found that Suhail had been regularly supplying MDMA to Vivek and Reena. A detailed investigation revealed that the teacher was selling the drugs to students and friends too.

Search on for distributors

Suhail, a native of Mongam, near Kondotty, has been teaching at the college for three years. The police said he admitted that he was a regular MDMA user and bought the drugs from wholesale suppliers at Kondotty and Manjeri. The police have intensified the search for the distributors.

Suhail’s arrest comes amid growing concern over the alleged involvement of teachers in drugs-related activities.

Earlier, three teachers were arrested in Kozhikode in a case involving synthetic drugs. They were V.P. Neeshma, a specialist teacher at Perambra BRC; K.C. Keerthana, a specialist sports instructor at the same centre; and K. Kavya, a teacher at an autism centre associated with Perambra BRC. The police said the three allegedly worked as intermediaries for synthetic drugs dealers, finding customers mainly through Instagram and facilitating transactions.

A senior police officer in Malappuram said the involvement of teachers, who are expected to guide students and help steer them away from harmful influences, in drugs use and trafficking should be viewed as a serious and aggravated offence. “The recent arrests raise a disturbing question—how deeply have synthetic drugs such as MDMA penetrated spaces that are meant to keep young people safe?” he asked.