A special investigation squad proposed by local police to probe gold smugglers’ role in abduction and man missing cases is yet to be a reality in the State. Citing lack of incriminating evidence, the local police have concluded follow-up investigations into majority of recently reported abduction cases in Kozhikode, in which gold smugglers were accused of having key roles.
The recent incidents were just treated as man missing cases and were closed after tracking the individuals. Financial deals behind such incidents involving gold smugglers and tip-offs related to an international network of smugglers and carriers remains untracked.
According to police sources, the local police squads are unable to carry out follow-up investigations into financial or other criminal aspects of the missing cases due to existing law and order duties. Only a special squad, trained in tracking financial crimes, with the support of national or international agencies would be able to pursue the cases effectively, they added.
Within the last two years, there were over eight well-planned abductions in the district alone. One of the victims, from Panthirikkara village, was killed in 2022. Though some of the suspects were arrested, those who operated behind the crime remains unknown.
Many of the victims, suspected of working as carriers for gold smugglers throughairports, did not cooperate with the investigations. The police had reasons to suspect that the victims were chased by smugglers for their double-crossing attempts.
“The suspects in one of the recently reported abduction cases from Thamarassery are still at large though the police have sought support of various Inter-State squads. Formation of district-level squads alone will not be sufficient to crack illegal network of big sharks in the business,” said a retired police office, involved in investigating similar cases. The links between similar incidents could be uncovered easily by a competent State-level special squad headed by experienced senior officers, he added.
