Delhi Police recovers Rs 3 cr cardamom consignment ‘misappropriated’ by transporter

New Delhi, Nov 17 (PTI) The Delhi Police has recovered a cardamom consignment worth around Rs 3 crore from outernorth Delhi after it was allegedly diverted and misappropriated by a transporter and his associates, officials said on Monday The case originated from a complaint filed on November 8 by R Sirajuddin, a resident of Theni district in Tamil Nadu, who alleged that a valuable shipment of cardamom had been diverted and misappropriated by a transporter and his associates, they said.

Sirajuddin told police that the consignment was entrusted to Balaji, the owner of Deepak Transport, and others, but instead of delivering it as agreed, the accused allegedly diverted and sold it illegally in Bengaluru.

A case was registered and within 24 hours, the entire consignment -- 203 bags of cardamom, each weighing 50 kg -- was traced and recovered, police said.

The market value of the seized cardamom is estimated to be around Rs 3 crore, officials said.

Police also seized a truck bearing a Haryana registration number allegedly used to transport the consignment.

Three accused, identified as Raman (58), a resident of Naraina Vihar in Delhi; Balaji (52) from Mandaveli, Chennai; and Ratan (41) from Shahdara in Delhi have been arrested, police said.

Efforts are underway to trace the remaining accused involved in the crime, they added. PTI SSJ ARI