Hyderabad: The Central Zone Task Force Team apprehended three men in possession of nine antique telescopes and two stands and compasses on Wednesday.
The arrested were identified as Mohammed Hafeez Uddin, 71, an import and export businessman from Saifabad, Syed Azam alias Azeem, 30, a real estate agent from Chandrayangutta and Mohammed Kaleem Uddin, 40, police said.
Hafeez was in the imports and exports business and had collected the antiques with the help of his contacts and the Nawab families.
He procured them and kept them at his house and as he was facing a financial crisis, he planned to sell them for Rs 1 crore, said the DCP, Commissioner’s Task Force, P. Radhakrishna Rao.
“In this process, he came in contact with Kaleemuddin and Syed Azam who were acting as his agents to bring aspiring buyers to him on a commission basis. On Wednesday, while the trio gathered and were waiting for the buyers at Farooq Mansion near Golconda Hotel, Masab Tank in Saifabad, the Central Zone Task Force team caught them, based on reliable information,” said the official.
The accused persons along with the seized antiques were handed over to the Saifabad Police for further investigation.
