Kozhikode: A Malayali employee in Dubai Police who went missing during a visit to the state might have been abducted by gold smugglers, intelligence agencies suspect.
Musaffar Ahmed of Pathiyerikandi Parambil from Arakkinar was abducted on his way home from airport a fortnight ago. Marad Police said Musaffar was a temporary employee in Dubai Police. An investigation into his disappearance requested by relatives revealed the gold smuggler angle.
Musaffar had visited home last December. He landed at Karipur Airport on April 22 and called home on 24 to say he will be home soon. His mobile phone has been switched off since.
Agencies discovered that Musaffar acted as a courier for gold smugglers during his December visit. But he did not hand over the gold. The gang was waiting for Musaffar to return to the state again. Once here, they abducted him, agencies say.
The gold mafia has been an active presence in the state for sometime now. Last month an airport employee was caught by customs for trying to smugge 9.5kg of gold in the Thiruvanthapuram airport. In another instance, five were arrested for exchanging gold using a transit bus at the airport. Gold dealers usually hire passengers to pass the gold to airport officials in the respective airports. These officials aid and abet the gold mafia in smuggling the gold outside the airport.
