MALAPPURAM: Kondotty police on Saturday arrested three Wayanad natives for kidnapping a person who smuggled gold through Calicut airport. The arrested are Praveen PP (24), Harshal TA (25) and Askarali (24).
Police said the trio kidnapped the Kodotty native when he reached the airport with the gold. He was working for a gold smuggling racket based in Koduvally.
After taking the gold, they abandoned the smuggler at Ramanattukara Aarapuzha bridge. Later, members of his smuggling racket reached the spot and took him to their hideout. They also physically assaulted him, assuming that he had sold the gold to someone else.
After keeping him in custody for a week, they released him. As he was part of a smuggling team, the youth was reluctant to approach the police. Later, considering the threat of the racket, he filed a complaint with police. The police later extended the search for the culprits to Wayanad and nabbed the trio.