Kochi: One of the key accused in the high-profile Nedumbassery gold smuggling case was arrested by Coimbatore customs officials at Coimbatore International Airport at 4 am on Monday.
The arrested has been identified as Yazar Muhammed from Muvattupuzha in Eranakulam. Customs officials from Kochi took him from Coimbatore at 3 pm on Monday for questioning.
Yazar is a close associate of Noushad, kingpin of the smuggling racket and he is absconding. A detention order was issued against nine people, including Yazar, under the provisions of the Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act (Cofeposa) and he is not entitled to get bail.
During questioning by customs officials it came to light that 1,700 to 2,000 kilograms of gold was smuggled by him and his aides over a period of 1.5 years.
“An alert notice was issued by the customs officials in Kochi. When we checked the passenger details of the Air Arabia flight from Sharjah we came to know that he was on board that flight. We later communicated with the officials in Kochi and confirmed that it was Yazar. We arrested him soon after he landed here. Since the case was registered in Kochi we later handed him over to the customs officials in Kochi,” said Anish Muraleedharan, Deputy Commissioner of Coimbatore Central Excise, Customs and Service Tax.
When contacted KN Raghavan, Customs Commissioner in Kochi, hold DC, “We have taken him into custody and police have to detain him soon. Since he is not entitled to get bail he has to be taken to jail by the police.”
The case had hogged headlines with the involvement of immigration officials. Nearly 360 kilograms of gold worth Rs 400 crores were smuggled by them over a couple of months.
The immigration officials had helped Yazar and his aides to come out of the airport without any security check. As many as 37 people have been arrested so far in this case.
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