Chalakudy: A team of smugglers managed to dodge customs officials and carry half kilogram gold out from the airport, only to be chased by a rival gang that banged against their speeding car on the road and escaped with the booty at dawn.
None of the assaulters has been caught 24 hours after the incident at Potta, near Chalakudy in Thrissur district, on early Saturday. However, two youths whose car was attacked have been arrested as they finally admitted on the motive of their trip, police said.
Earlier, at the break of the day, the duo was handed over a lunch box containing 560 gm of gold by a man who had alighted at Nedumbassery airport, north of Kochi. They were asked to hand this over to another person at Koduvally in Kozhikode district.
The two men were driving northward when their car was being repeatedly hit by another from the back when the Kochi airport was a good 20 km behind. Soon, the tailgating car overtook them, and stopped in front of them, leading to a forceful collision at Potta. The men carrying the gold, though, did not get out, sensing the danger behind any such movement even as their car was seriously damaged and had lost its shape.
At this, men from the other car got down and began hitting the window glass of the duo's car with hammers. Nishad was pulled out and beaten up, following which Arshad tried to flee. The assaulters, on getting possession of the box, chased Arshad and managed to take him in their car. He was dropped at Puthookavu near Kodakara, 7 km north on the highway to Palakkad. A little later, Arshad met Nishad. The two decided to complain to the police about the road accident.
The cops found the duo suspicious and they confessed they were in a sortie to hand over gold to a person at Koduvally. Their car was recovered from Dhanya Nagar near Potta, 27 km south of Thrissur. A search is on to trace the person who handed over gold to the duo.
A fingerprint examination was undertaken and investigation is on to find the assaulters. The team is led by DySP C R Santhosh and circle inspector Jayesh Balan.
Last year, the area had witnessed a similar incident. A car carrying 3.5 kg gold to a jewellery was obstructed near Angamaly and men in another car whisked away the kitty.
