Customs foil Rs 3.15 crore cash smuggling from Karnataka to Kerala

Wayanad (Kerala), Nov 20 (PTI) Customs officials said they seized Rs 3.15 crore in cash on Thursday from a car smuggled from Karnataka to Kerala.

According to the Customs (Preventive) Commissionerate, Kozhikode Division, the movements of the vehicle had been under surveillance for several months. Acting on this intelligence, the car was intercepted at Mananthavady in the early hours with support from police and other central agencies.

“The operation, led by Joint Commissioner Shashikant Sharma and Deputy Commissioner Syam Nath S, was based on extensive intelligence that a gang was smuggling contraband items weekly from Bangalore,” Customs said.

On inspection, authorities found welded steel boxes hidden under rubber flooring below the seats of a Hyundai Creta. The boxes contained 630 bundles of cash, Customs added.

Three people from Vadakara, Kozhikode, who were in the car, were taken into custody. They later confessed that Salman Kandathil, also from Vadakara, had supplied the cash.

Follow-up searches were conducted at five other locations near Karipur and Vadakara as part of the investigation, Customs said.

The seized currency will be handed over to the Income Tax Department, officers added. PTI TBA SSK