Udupi : An explosives supplier Biju Thomas, who was arrested for his involvement the illegal sale of ammonium nitrate to stone quarries for years, has been produced before Udupi court on April 30, Wednesday.

It is learnt that, after the Karkala police conducted a raid at his stockyard and seized more than 14,000 kg of ammonium nitrate with a case of illegal sales, Biju was absconding from three weeks, but was arrested two days back from Haryana and produced before the Udupi Court.

The raid at Karkala was conducted after Delhi Police Special Cell officials arrested IM operatives Zia-ur-Rehman alias Waqas and Tehseen Akhtar alias Monu, in March and were brought to Mangalore identify their hideout at the Zephyr Heights apartment on April 8.

According to some sources, Biju Thomas was not booked in a terror case since it was yet to be established if he was aware of the sale to IM operatives. Later, four cases of illegal sale had been registered against him. It is also said that he used to supply to the Indian Mujahideen.

Biju was being scanned in 2010, after Chinnaswamy Stadium blasts, but since they did not found link between Thomas and the IM, he was let free.

It is said that Biju Thomas was a licensed supplier of explosives but he was selling explosives illegally, to anybody who approached him.

The IM cases include the Jaipur serial blasts in May 2008 which killed 80 people, Delhi serial blasts in September 2008 killing 30 people and twin blasts in Hyderabad during February 2013 killing 16 people.