A day after three men from Coimbatore were arrested at the Kempegowda International Airport for transporting 54 kg of gold worth Rs. 16.5 crore, a special team from Kolkata came to the to question the trio regarding the case.
According to sources, the Kolkata team found no link between a case they are investigating in Kolkata and the Bangalore seizure.
The three men, who claimed to be sales executives of a jewellery unit in Coimbatore, were caught with three bags containing 24 gold biscuits and other gold valuables. The arrested are Balasubramanya, Ravivarma R and Iswhar Murthy.
Police officials said they would investigate how such large quantity of gold could pass through security checks at the at the Kolkata airport without detection, but said it was “too early to comment” on the matter until the questioning was complete.
‘No lapse at KIA’However, a senior official from the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), which is in-charge of security at the Kempegowda International airport, said the security arrangements in place at Kolkata airport had to be investigated as the accused had boarded the flight with the consignment from there. However, he claimed there was no lapse in the security at Kempegowda International airport since it was an arrival point.
The Kolkata police had also arrested a man who the police claimed was an associate of the trio.
Once they were informed about the seizure of gold and the arrest at KIA, a special team came down to the city and questioned the three men on Sunday, said a senior police official.
City Police Commissioner Raghavendra H. Auradkar said that the trio did not possess documents that explained why they were transporting such a large amount of gold from Kolkata to Coimbatore. They only had submitted a receipt of the purchased gold so far to the police.
The city police said that the three men have been now released on bail.
