More than 100 explosives boxes that were concealed beneath watermelons on a truck were found in Kerala.

A pick-up van carrying more than 100 boxes of explosives was seized in Kerala’s Palakkad area, police said on Thursday. More than 20 boxes of detonators and more than 100 boxes of gelatin sticks were discovered in the car, according to a Palakkad Town South police station official. A shipment of watermelons had been used to hide the boxes.

As state authorities increased security throughout the state in anticipation of the next Assembly elections, the seizure happened late on Wednesday night.The officer said that once authorities learned that a lot of explosives were being transported into the state illegally, they stopped the car during a routine inspection.

The driver allegedly disregarded the signal to halt, so the police pursued the car and arrested him. The driver admitted to authorities after first questioning that he had loaded the boxes from Coimbatore and was driving them to a Thrissur quarry. The explosives were initially thought to be intended for quarry work, according to the police.

In a statement regarding the broader context of explosive sales in the region, the police said, “We are looking into it. There are only a few agencies that have licences to sell these explosives. It’s a monopoly in most areas where high prices are charged, so people without a licence sell this for cheap prices secretly. At first glance, this is what it looks like.”

According to police, after the seizure procedure is finished, a case under the Explosive Substances Act will be filed against the motorist. The Palakkad Police have filed a case in relation to the event.