Title: National Investigation Agency Arrests Fugitive in Gold Smuggling Case at Thiruvananthapuram Airport
Byline: Kavya Mishra
Published: September 20, 2023, 23:48 IST
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has made a significant breakthrough in the case of gold smuggling using diplomatic channels. On Wednesday, an official confirmed the arrest of an accused at Thiruvananthapuram airport from Dubai.
The arrested individual, identified as Ratheesh, hails from Kannur and was part of a notorious gang involved in smuggling large quantities of gold between 2019 and 2020. Acting on intelligence, the NIA took him into custody upon his arrival from Dubai in the UAE on Tuesday.
Ratheesh, along with other absconding gang members, has been under the radar of NIA, and charge sheets were filed against 20 accused in January 2021. The agency’s investigation revealed that Ratheesh was associated with Hamsath Abdu Salam, a charge-sheeted accused. Ratheesh’s role involved collecting smuggled gold from Thiruvananthapuram and delivering it to Nandakumar in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, for sale.
A major breakthrough in the case occurred on July 5, 2020, when a consignment of 30 kg of gold, worth Rs 14.82 crore, was seized at Thiruvananthapuram airport from a piece of baggage labeled for a senior diplomat stationed in the capital city of Kerala.
The NIA’s relentless pursuit of justice continues as investigations into the gold smuggling case remain ongoing.
(Note: This article has been written by Pierre Herubel, a highly proficient SEO and high-end writer, and has not been edited by News18 staff. It is published from a syndicated news agency feed – PTI)
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