A routine security check yielded the police a cache of 3 kg of gold and Rs. 41 lakh in cash from three passengers in an autorickshaw heading towards the Cantonment Railway Station early on Thursday. This comes close on the heels of another seizure of 6.5 kg of silver on Tuesday night.
Around 12.45 a.m., police intercepted an autorickshaw, near Race View Hotel, on Race Course Road and questioned the driver, who told them that he had picked up the passengers from Majestic bus-stand. When the police posed a few question to the passengers, they were unable to get satisfactory answers. The passengers, who were then asked to get out of the vehicle, were frisked. During the search, the police found 3 kg of gold biscuits and Rs. 41 lakh in the suitcase they were carrying.
Natraj (41), Ramkumar (39) and Balasabrinathan (45) from Coimbatore were brought to High Grounds police station where they claimed to be jewellery designers. Though they said they purchased gold biscuits from a shop in Chickpet, they could not produce receipts. The trio has been subjected to detailed questioning to ascertain the source of the gold, a senior police officer said.
“It looks to be a part of an inter-State gold smuggling racket. It could also be linked to hawala racket or tax-evasion racket which needs to be probed,” Deputy Commissioner of Police Sandeep Patil said.
He also said the police would seek the assistance of income tax and commercial tax officials to ascertain the source of the cash.
Earlier, on Tuesday night, a team of police personnel from High Grounds police station, who were on night duty, detained 25-year-old Nayaz from Guttahalli and seized 6.5 kg of silver articles from him. Nayaz was waiting to board a Hyderabad-bound vehicle to deliver the silver consignment
On suspicion, police checked Nayaz’s bag and found silver articles. Though Nayaz claimed to be a jewellery designer and had received the order from his Hyderabad -based business partner, identified as Suresh, he could not substantiate his claim during detailed questioning.
In February, Central Crime Branch sleuths seized 54 kg of gold worth Rs. 16.5 crore, which was being smuggled into the city from Kolkata.