Man Duped in Gold Smuggling Deal; Two Held, Hunt On for Key Accused
According to Vemulawada ASP Sheshadrini Reddy, the victim, Rudra Ramprasad from Mallapur mandal in Jagtial district, had transferred ₹30 lakh to his relative, Ravinder, in Saudi Arabia to procure and send back 400 grams of gold.
Karimnagar: In a shocking case of deception and illegal gold smuggling, a man from the erstwhile Karimnagar district was cheated out of 400 grams of gold he had imported from Saudi Arabia for personal use. The incident took place in Vemulawada, Rajanna Sircilla district, and has led to arrests and an ongoing manhunt.
According to Vemulawada ASP Sheshadrini Reddy, the victim, Rudra Ramprasad from Mallapur mandal in Jagtial district, had transferred ₹30 lakh to his relative, Ravinder, in Saudi Arabia to procure and send back 400 grams of gold.
Ravinder, in turn, coordinated with his acquaintance Kalva Venkatesh of Vemulawada, and two others — Thonti Bheeraiah and Gaddam Anil from Jogapur village in Chandurthi mandal — to facilitate the delivery.
However, the plan took a criminal turn when the trio conspired to steal the gold. They roped in their relative Anugula Nagaraju (also referred to as Nagesh), who received the gold biscuits at the airport in India. After taking possession, Nagaraju allegedly switched off his phone and went into hiding.
Following a complaint lodged by Ramprasad at the Vemulawada police station, authorities launched an investigation. ASP Reddy confirmed the case involved both smuggling and theft of gold.
Police arrested Bheeraiah and Anil and recovered 400 grams of gold from their possession. Kalva Venkatesh, currently in Saudi Arabia, and Nagaraju, who remains absconding, are identified as the prime suspects. A special team has been formed to track down the remaining accused. Investigators are also probing whether a larger smuggling network is involved and are scrutinising the possible role of customs officials at the international airport.
