Gold in meat slicer: Customs officials search house of suspect in Kochi

Kochi, April 26 (IANS) Customs officials on Tuesday arrived at the house of a local politician as a follow-up in the case of smuggling gold concealed in a meat slicer.

The Customs officials got a tip-off three days back of gold being smuggled in from the Middle East, concealed in a meat slicer.

The packet had come through the cargo to Sirajudeen on April 17, and on Monday a person named Naukul had come to take it.

The Customs officials allowed the baggage to be cleared before taking the person into custody from outside the clearing house.

The officials used a gas cutter to open the meat slicer and recovered 2.26 kg of gold stacked inside the machine.

The Customs officials are yeat to nab Sirajudeen.

On Tuesday, the Customs officials raided the house of A.A. Ebrahim Kutty, the vice-chairman of the Thrikakara Municipality, as a follow-up investigation in the same case as they suspect the alleged involvement of his son in the smuggling racket cracked on Monday.