Hyderabad: A suspected gold carrier gave customs officials the slip at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport this week, shoving a senior officer aside and bolting mid-search even as authorities extracted nearly Rs 91 lakh worth of gold paste he had been caught carrying.
According to The Times of India, the accused, TP Sadakkathulla, a resident of Kannur district in Kerala, landed at the Hyderabad airport on an IndiGo flight from Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday morning. Air Intelligence Unit officers, acting on a tip-off, intercepted him at the arrival hall. He was carrying only a backpack, but a scan turned up a black packet of gold paste.
During questioning, Sadakkathulla reportedly told officials he had picked up the packet from under his seat on the aircraft, which had been left there by an international passenger who had flown in on the same plane’s earlier leg from Sharjah to Thiruvananthapuram. A smuggling gang allegedly offered him Rs 10,000 to retrieve the packet and hand it to a contact waiting outside the airport.
Customs officials took Sadakkathulla, along with two independent witnesses, to a gold extraction facility at RB Nagar near Shamshabad to smelt the paste, which weighed 697 grams. It was during this process that he allegedly pushed Air Customs Superintendent Lavkesh Kumar Meena and ran. Officials gave chase but could not catch him.
The smelting continued despite the escape. A government-approved valuer assessed the extracted gold at 570.03 grams of 24-carat purity, worth Rs 90.56 lakh. Customs officials sealed the gold and the accused’s backpack as evidence and recorded witness statements as part of the panchnama. His mobile phone and Aadhaar card were handed over to RGIA police along with a complaint from Meena.
Police have registered a case against Sadakkathulla under section 262 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which deals with resistance or obstruction to lawful apprehension. “The accused is absconding. We are trying to locate him,” an RGIA police official said.
Investigators are now looking into the wider smuggling network behind the operation, including the identity and role of the international passenger who allegedly left the gold consignment on the aircraft for collection.
-
India-Finland cooperation dominates circular economy forum
-
Viral photo: Rashmika Mandanna with newborn in her arms
-
‘I still don’t know what happened’ - Ederson opens up on failed Manchester United move
-
Brighton chief speaks on Carlos Baleba transfer as Manchester United submit £60m bid for Michael Carrick's latest target
-
Fine lines on the face will disappear within a month! Make homemade retinol cream at home using this ingredient
