Karipur: A hunt for smuggled gold that rivaled cinema had happened at the Karipur airport the other day. Customs had caught six people trying to smuggle gold. Among them were Mohammad Basheer and Mohammad Mithilaj from Koduvalli Kozhikode, Aziz from Chelarkkad, and Samir and Abdul Zakir from Malappuram. The incident, which involved a confrontation between the quotation team and a scuffle during gold trading, took even the officials by surprise.
Customs authorities seized 5.46 kilograms of gold from the six persons who were arrested. The estimated value of this gold in the domestic market is approximately Rs 3 crore. Mohammed Mithilaj, who arrived from Dubai, cleverly concealed gold-plated paper sheets within a bedsheet. Muhammad Basheer, who came from Riyadh to Karipur, had 619 grams of gold mixed in a concealed form within his body. Aziz, who arrived from Doha, as well as Abdul Zakir and Sameer, who came from Jeddah, resorted to smuggling gold by concealing it within their bodies in the form of capsules.
In a separate incident, Ligesh, hailing from Kozhikode, was caught by customs officials for gold smuggling, while Asif, a resident of Omasseri and a member of a quotation gang, was caught by the police in a cinematic-style operation outside Karipur airport. Both were caught outside the Karipur airport.
While the other accused were caught by customs at the airport yesterday, Ligesh managed to exit the airport with the smuggled gold. However, in his attempt to evade customs officials, Ligesh encountered the quotation team, leading to a confrontation that resulted in a scuffle.
Karipur Police and CISF intervened when the violence against Ligesh came into notice. Though the officials nabbed Ligesh and Asif, a member of the Quotation group, four members of the group managed to escape. Upon examination, it was discovered that Ligesh had concealed the gold mixture in capsule form within his body. Asif has been turned over to the police, and Ligesh has been handed over to customs authorities. An ongoing investigation is underway to identify those responsible for the incident.
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