Chennai, Aug 26 : In a major operation, the Coimbatore Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) intercepted a pickup van carrying nearly two tonnes of gelatin sticks at Madukkarai, Coimbatore, on Tuesday.

The seizure has triggered alarm given Coimbatore's violent past, including the 1998 serial bomb blasts that killed 58 people during a planned assassination attempt on then Deputy Prime Minister and BJP leader L.K. Advani.

The ATS team, led by Inspector Karuppasamy Pandian, stopped the vehicle while it was headed towards Kerala.

A detailed search revealed 75 boxes containing gelatin sticks, with each box holding 200 sticks. The total weight was estimated at two tonnes. Preliminary investigation revealed that the explosives were loaded from a manufacturing unit in Kennedy Nagar, Salem.

The driver, identified as M. Subair, 43, of Arimbra in Malappuram, was transporting the consignment to Kerala without proper documents. He was arrested on the spot.

Police sources said Subair admitted to transporting the explosives for his friend Shafee.

Investigators suspect the explosives were intended for unauthorised purposes, though the exact end-use remains under inquiry. The seized materials will be stored in a government-approved godown in Kinathukadavu after court approval.

Officials noted that the company details, addresses, and QR codes printed on the boxes were fabricated, raising further suspicion about the origins of the consignment.

'The documentation is fake. We are probing the manufacturing source, financing, and the intended use of these explosives. The large scale of this haul cannot be ignored,' a senior officer said.

Subair was produced in court and remanded in judicial custody. The ATS has handed over the vehicle and the accused to the Madukkarai police, who have registered a case and launched parallel inquiries.

Police officials said the seizure highlights the urgent need for vigilance in Coimbatore, a city still scarred by the 1998 blasts that were part of a major terror conspiracy.

The recovery of two tonnes of explosives has once again underscored how the region remains vulnerable to illegal smuggling of arms and explosives across state borders.

/IANS