Mangaluru: In connection with the recovery of Rs 1.20 crore stashed away inside the back seat of a car that had been stopped and checked near Uppala when it was moving towards Kasargod from the city by a customs team, the officials raided a jewellery store and flat ibelonging to a person named Rajendra Pawar on Sunday. During the raids, the officials reportedly recovered some important documents. In the meanwhile, several spots in Kasargod were also raided simultaneously.
After the recovery of cash inside the car, the officials had arrested the car driver, Basheer (55) a resident of Kunnil. They had also raided a rented house on Kote Road, Kasargod, and taken into possession gold weighing 1.5 kg that had been concealed.
During the raids on the jewellery store at car stree and his flat, Pawar could not be found. As the officials have suspicion that he might have fled to Mumbai, they have expanded their probe to Mumbai and roped in the Mumbai customs team for investigation.
As per the customs officials, Pawar is engaged in smuggling of gold into the country from the Gulf region through the local and Kozhikode airports. Once the gold reaches Kasargod, it is melted and then sold to other jewellery shops. This network has several links in the Gulf region.
