Kochi: Customs officials on Thursday arrested film producer K P Sirajuddin and Shabin in connection with a failed bid to smuggle 2.23 kg of gold through Cochin International Airport last week.
Customs seized the gold from a meat cutting machine at the cargo terminal of the airport.
The accused were absconding following the seizure.
Shabin, who was nabbed from Kochi, is the son of A A Ibrahimkutty, who is the vice-chairman of the Thrikkakara Municipality. Ibrahimkutty had came out in defence of his son claiming that he was innocent.
Customs officials had feared that Sirajuddin managed to escape to Dubai. He is the producer of films like 'Vaanku' and 'Charminar'.
Nakulan, a driver who came to the airport to collect the parcel, was arrested earlier in the case.
Customs officials conducted raids at the houses of Sirajuddin and Shabin on Tuesday. They had gotten some leads in the case from the laptops of the accused, which were seized during the raids.
The search was carried out under the leadership of Customs Preventive Officer Vivek.
The authorities had been viewing the duo's rapid growth in business with suspicion. Small-time businessmen, their expansion and success was at an unprecedented rate.
Customs officials claimed that gold smuggling was behind the turnaround in their fortunes.
According to Customs, Sirajuddin and Shabin have together smuggled gold through the airport earlier too. They carried out smuggling on the pretext of importing machine parts. In the latest incident, they smuggled gold in a meat-cutting machine.
The machine had arrived on an Air India cargo flight from Dubai on Saturday night. After routine inspections at the cargo terminal, the machine was handed over to Nakulan, who had reached the airport to take possession of the item.
Nakulan loaded the cargo on a vehicle and had passed the gate of the cargo terminal when Customs officers received a message that gold was concealed in the machine. Immediately, the Customs team chased Nakulan's vehicle and blocked it.
The vehicle carrying the meat slicer was directed back to the cargo terminal and the machine subjected to a thorough examination. Soon, two gold bars weighing a kilogram each and two small gold ‘biscuits’ were recovered. Officers also took Nakulan into custody.
The gold weighing 2.25 kg was moulded into bar shape and was neatly hidden inside the meat-cutting machine.
The questioning of Nakulan led to the information regarding the racket.
