The Thiruvananthapuram Rural police have cracked a seven-month-old case that saw a foreign couple on the run after a theft spree that targeted foreign currency exchange firms in the district.
Two Iranian nationals have been arrested by the Attingal police for alleged theft of foreign currency from at least three firms in Thiruvananthapuram.
The accused, identified as Serajuddin Hyder, 57, and Heydari Hosna, 53, have been arrested in connection with the theft of 7,500 Saudi Riyals and 75 Kuwaiti Dinars, which amounted to around ₹1.56 lakh, from a firm on the Attingal-Chirayinkeezhu road in September last. Despite the police circulating their images across transit points and on the social media, the couple had managed to flee from the State, leading the probe to a dead end.
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However, following a tip-off, the Thiruvananthapuram Rural Shadow Police team managed to apprehend the duo from a hotel in Angamaly with the assistance of the local police.
Upon investigation, the Ernakulam Rural police found the accused to be involved in the theft of Saudi Riyals worth around ₹2.5 lakh from a currency exchange firm in Kothamangalam in October 2017. Subsequently, Serajuddin Hyder and another accomplice were arrested by the Kothamangalam police in the particular case.
While Heydari Hosna has been remanded in judicial custody and lodged in the Attakulangara sub-jail, the Attingal police will seek custody of Serajuddin following the probe in the Kothamangalam case.
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Confessed
The duo have purportedly confessed to their role in the theft of US dollars worth nearly ₹30,000 from a shop near the Government Medical College, Thiruvananthapuram, and around ₹58,000 from another commercial establishment in Karette in Kilimanoor.