Kozhikode: The Customs has found gold was smuggled earlier through diplomatic parcels many times before and they ended up at various jewellery shops in Kozhikode.
The gold carrier in such dealings was T M Shamju, a resident of Nediyarambath Razia Manzil at Eranhikkal in Kozhikode.
Mohammad Shafi, a resident of Ayikkarappadi in Malappuram who was arrested by the Customs on Thursday, has given a statement saying that he had gone to Samju's house with gold several times.
Following this revelation, the Customs, which had take Samju into custody on July 15, recorded his arrest on Thursday. They also collected the CCTV footage from his home.
Samju has a stake in the Kozhikode Convention Centre and owns several buildings and a paint shop. He also has a hotel in Dammam and a mobile shop in Dubai, investigators said.
His father-in-law owns a jewellery shop in the city and has been arrested several times in the past for gold smuggling.
The Customs on Friday commenced raids at Hessa Jewellery located at Arakinar in Kozhikode. Another raid is on at the residence of its owner. Two people, including the owner, have been arrested.
Customs suspect the entire gold at the jewellery was procured illegally. The agency is set to seize the stock.
He was recently released on bail after being arrested in March this year over the seizure of 6 kg gold at Kozhikode airport.
According to Customs officials, the jewellery was a front for gold smuggling.
Two years ago, Samju's brother was caught by the customs with a kilogramme of gold at Ramanattukara in Kozhikode.
Ramees, Hamjad Ali held discussions
K T Ramees and Hamjad Ali, both arrested by the Customs department in the latest gold smuggling case, held discussions at the flat near the secretariat, investigators have found.
One of the three directors of Avora Ventures, an interior design firm that Hamjad had started in Palakkad with himself as the managing director, said: “Hamjad had said that he was going to Thiruvananthapuram to talk about a Rs 50 crore contract in Andhra Pradesh. He had said the deal had come through Mohammad Shafi (one of those arrested in the smuggling case on Thursday) and that he had met Ramees in the flat in Thiruvananthapuram to discuss the contract.”
Customs officials have taken Hamjad Ali’s Benz car in custody. Investigators believe that the car, registered in the name of the company, was used for smuggling gold.
The Customs recently busted a well-entrenched racket with the seizure of 30 kg gold found hidden in a diplomatic bag at the Trivandrum International Airport.
