What began as an offer of a free ticket home from Dubai, was actually a sophisticated gold smuggling operation, but throw in a good old double-cross, spurred on by greed, and your Bollywood plot is complete.
Lucknow police on Tuesday arrested two alleged members of an interstate syndicate accused of recruiting Indians in Gulf countries, using them as couriers to smuggle gold concealed inside body cavities and then taking the contraband off them after they landed in India.
A third man - the courier, Mahboob Alam - has been detained for now and is being quizzed. Police and customs are using him to reach other members of the larger network.
Also Read | 15 kg gold seized from Bengal village smuggled from abroad: Govt tells court
“The arrested men have been identified as Deepak Verma, a native of Balrampur, currently living in Ludhiana, and Ram Pratap Dubey of Balrampur,” said DCP South Md Mushtaq. He added,
“The team recovered a 203.92-gram capsule containing gold powder, valued at around ₹30 lakh, which had allegedly been stolen from a courier who had arrived from Dubai.”
{{/usCountry}}“The team recovered a 203.92-gram capsule containing gold powder, valued at around ₹30 lakh, which had allegedly been stolen from a courier who had arrived from Dubai.”
{{/usCountry}}During interrogation, the accused allegedly revealed the workings of the interstate network.
According to the DCP, “The gang allegedly offered Indians eager to return home, free shopping, cash and air tickets in return for carrying gold into India,” he added.
The case came to light after Mahboob Alam, a resident of Ballia, lodged a complaint at Sarojininagar police station on August 3. Alam told investigators that he had landed at Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport on July 27 after travelling from Dubai. Soon after exiting the airport, he was allegedly approached by Verma, Dubey and their associates, including a man from Punjab, identified as Arshdeep.
Police said the accused persuaded Alam to board a black four-wheeler, drove him around for some time and later dropped him near the Alambagh bus terminal. By then, his trolley bag containing his passport, clothes and the gold capsule had allegedly been stolen.
Following the complaint, the DCP South surveillance unit and Sarojininagar police formed four teams to crack the case. “Investigators examined footage from nearly 100 to 130 CCTV cameras and analysed other electronic evidence before arresting Verma and Dubey on Tuesday. The remaining accused are absconding and efforts are underway to arrest them,” said ADCP (South) Vasanth Rallapalli.
Unusual twist: Greed gets better of accused
According to police, in this case, greed led to an unusual twist. “Instead of handing over the gold to the larger syndicate, the two accused allegedly decided to steal it from the courier themselves to make a larger profit. During questioning, they admitted that they had been assigned only to receive the consignment from the arriving passenger but chose to betray both the courier and the network,” said the ADCP.
Police said the gang has links in Rajasthan, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and other states, indicating a wider interstate smuggling network. “A case has been registered under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, and further investigation is underway to identify and arrest the remaining members,” said the DCP South announcing a cash reward of ₹25,000 for the police team that cracked the case.