One more arrested in gold smuggling conspiracy

Nabbed man coordinated plan by two gangs to grab 2 kg of smuggled gold, say police

The special squad probing the Ramanattukara accident and the related gold smuggling case on Saturday nabbed a 26-year-old youth from Koduvally who was suspected to be a conspirator in the incident. Police sources said Fijas Abdulkhader, brother of Sufiyan, who is the prime accused in the case, was involved in connecting the two smugglers’ gangs near the Kozhikode International Airport in the conspiracy to grab more than 2 kg of smuggled gold from a passenger. The five persons, who died in the Ramanattukara accident on June 21, were part of one of such gangs he interacted with, the police said. Meanwhile, Fijas, who was remanded in judicial custody in connection with the case, claimed innocence in the incident. He told the Kondotty police that he reached the international airport on June 21 to pick one of his friends. However, the police rejected his claims on the basis of some incriminating evidence, including the call detail records, gathered from various spots.