Gold smuggling: Involvement of Customs staffers at Mangaluru Airport raises eyebrows

coastaldigest.com web desk
November 1, 2018

Mangaluru, Nov 1: Customs employees at the Manglauru International Airport have once again come under the scanner after the involvement of two staffers in gold smuggling racket came to light recently.

Ashwin N V and Srikanth, both Customs hawaldars were recently arrested by the sleuths of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) on charges of helping the gold smugglers at the airport. It is learnt that both of these officers had gained employment in the department on compassionate grounds.

Both the arrests come after the seizure of gold worth Rs 47 lakh from one Niyaz Khadar at the Airport on September 20. A resident of Mulleriya in Kasaragod, Khader was caught on his arrival here from Dubai.

After subjecting Khader to interrogation, the officials arrested Srikanth for helping the former and seized gold worth Rs 25 lakh from the latter’s residence.

The DRI officials, who continued the investigation, then arrested one Akbar Siddiq who was purchased the smuggled gold. During the interrogation, Siddiq spilled the beans on the involvement of hawaldar Ashwin, sources in the customs department said.

The involvement of insiders in gold smuggling had come to light at Mangaluru Airport in the past too. Department sources said that it would take strict action against the culprits after detailed investigation.

Comments

Well Wisher
 - 
Thursday, 1 Nov 2018

I had this doubt long back. How come people smuggle this much of gold with daring. If a normal passenger takes an 8 gms of gold, they try to harass him. What to do! Kachche din for India and Achche din for looters. Waw. what a cooperation between so-called Hindu namesakes and Muslim namesakes. Please hang them in public.

Respected CM Sir, please appoint some honest officers instead of such bullshit Veerappans. Honest like Singam Annamalai Sir. 

Jai Karnataka Jai Hind

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News Network
January 10,2020

Mangaluru, Jan 10: Two members of a notorious honey-trap gang that used to lure rich men using women and then extort money from them by staging fake police raid have been arrested by the Dakshina Kannada district police.

Lohith, a resident of Kushalnagara, and Sharif from Vittal, were arrested in connection with a honey-trap case registered in Uppinangady police station. Jamal, Jeevan and Naushad, who were also involved in the case, are absconding.

Police said they received information that a few people under the guise of being Kerala police, were planning to raid a resort near Uppinangady where two couples were staying.

They were informed that they would threaten and try to extort money from them. The police were tipped off about the same by their counterparts in Kerala.

Police said the accused are experts in setting honeytraps, and were involved in similar crimes since a long time. Their modus operandi was to use two women from Mangaluru to lure their intended targets.

Once they trap their target, the woman and victim are sent to resorts. They then raid the resort posing as police officials, and click pictures in compromising positions of the victim with the woman.

They threaten to release the pictures on social media or TV channels, if they fail to pay up.

Police said the accused demanded Rs 10 lakh from each victim, but they denied to pay up. Irked by this, the accused took away the victims’ belongings such as phone, money and car.

The victims who believed that the accused were police personnel, asked them to take them to the police station. Instead of taking them to the police, the accused took them to a secluded place, where they claimed that they were putting the victims under house arrest. Police have seized an SUV from the accused.

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coastaldigest.com news network
August 4,2020

Mangaluru, Aug 4: The Kasaragod district administration has decided to restore the e-pass system for daily commuters between Kasaragod and Mangaluru amid covid-19 crisis. 

As covid-19 cases began to increase in Dakshina Kannada, the Kasargod district administration had unilaterally newly introduced of daily pass system on July 6 for entry and exit from Talapady border. This had inconvenienced hundreds of employees, who visited Mangaluru daily to eke a living. 

The decision to resume the pass system was taken in a video conference of Kerala Revenue Minister Chandrasekharan with officials and elected representatives on August 3.

The minister said the Kasaragod district administration will resume issuing of passes for daily commuters between Kasaragod and Mangaluru. But they should undergo rapid antigen test for every week to renew their passes.

"Similarly, one-time interstate passes will be issued for those who want to take part in marriages, funeral and other functions in both states. Even they should undergo antigen test after returning from the functions,” the minister added.

As per the previous order, daily commuters, especially employees, had to stay in Mangaluru for 28 days before returning to Kasargod. Later, Kerala government relaxed rules on July 23 allowing only bank employees from Kasaragod to travel daily in their private vehicles to their workplace in Dakshina Kannada.

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March 24,2020

Mangaluru, Mar 24: Amidst uncertainty and fear in the wake of coronavirus outbreak, the prices of vegetables and fruits have shot up in the coastal city of Mangaluru.

Fearing complete closure of shops, people arrived at the market to purchase vegetables in large numbers today morning.

Encashing the situation, the traders too increased the prices of vegetables and fruits.

Tomatoes that were sold for Rs 15 to 20 per kg in the last few days were sold at Rs 40 to 60 per kg. 

Long yard beans were sold at Rs 50 per kg while okra fetched Rs 60 per kg in the market. Onions were sold at Rs 40 to Rs 60 per kg.

Owing to rumours, the price of chicken was reduced to Rs 50 per kg. On Monday, it had increased to Rs 70 to Rs 80 per kg.

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