Suspected Gold Courier Flees Customs Custody at Hyderabad RGIA After Rs 90L Seizure

A suspected gold courier from Kerala escaped from customs custody during an investigation at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) in Hyderabad after officials seized gold worth over Rs 90 lakh from his possession. Following the escape, the police registered a case and launched efforts to trace and apprehend the suspect.

The incident took place on Thursday morning when officers from the customs Air Intelligence Unit intercepted the passenger, identified as TP Sadakkathulla, a resident of Kannur district in Kerala. Sadakkathulla had arrived at RGIA on an IndiGo flight originating from Thiruvananthapuram.

Customs officials acted on specific intelligence and stopped Sadakkathulla at the airport's arrival hall. Although he was carrying only a backpack, a scan of his luggage revealed a black packet containing gold paste. Officials then confiscated the concealed gold, which was estimated to be worth more than Rs 90 lakh.

During interrogation, Sadakkathulla admitted to picking up the illicit packet from under his seat on the aircraft. He told officials that the gold paste had been left there by an international passenger who had travelled on the very same aircraft during its immediate previous journey from Sharjah to Thiruvananthapuram.

According to an RGIA police officer, Sadakkathulla confessed that he had been offered Rs 10,000 by a gang to retrieve the packet from the plane and hand it over to a designated contact waiting outside the Hyderabad airport terminal.

However, during the course of the investigation, Sadakkathulla managed to give officials the slip and fled from custody. The RGIA police have registered a formal case regarding the incident and have initiated search operations to locate and arrest the absconding courier.