The special squad investigating the Ramanattukara gold smuggling conspiracy, which came to light following a road accident, has arrested one more suspect in the case. T.K. Sufian, a resident of Koduvally, was nabbed by a police team from Kondotty station on Wednesday morning.
The police said the 33-year-old was among those who escorted the vehicle which met with the accident at Ramanattukara on June 21. The squad had found that the five Palakkad natives who succumbed to the injuries in the accident were part of a gold-smuggling gang controlled by Sufian.
An officer said Sufian also helmed another gang from Koduvally, which followed Arjun Ayanki’s men from Kannur during their visit to Ramanattukara the same day. The plan of both the gangs was to grab the smuggled gold from an air passenger from Dubai. However, it failed to work out with the arrest of the carrier Mohammed Shafeeque by the Customs. Arjun, the prime suspect, was arrested by the Customs on June 28.
Police sources said Sufian was an accused in many cases related to gold smuggling through the Kozhikode airport. He had been nabbed earlier by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence in connection with a gold smuggling case in 2018.
