A pickup van that was smuggling granite worth Rs.5 lakh, hidden under a layer of fruits, was seized by the Thampanoor police here on Thursday.
The police handed over the seized articles to the Sales Tax Intelligence Squad.
Suresh V. Nair, Circle Inspector, Thampanoor, said the van had evaded paying the required tax on the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border.
It was during a routine vehicle inspection that the Thampanoor police chanced upon the hidden load of granite in the vehicle.
Both the vehicle and the granite were handed over to the Sales Tax Department, Mr. Nair told The Hindu here on Thursday.
— Special Correspondent