ALAPPUZHA: The recent highway heist in Alappuzha has exposed a tax evasion racket involved in the underground transfer of money by gold merchants.
The complaint regarding the heist was filed by a Marwadi businessman based in Kollam, who distributes gold ornaments to various jewellery stores across South India.
According to police sources, Appas Ramachandra Sait has been distributing gold ornaments to jewellery shops in several southern states. If the transactions are done legally, a significant amount of tax has to be paid by the merchants. However, to evade these taxes, merchants use clandestine methods to transfer money, one of which resulted in a highway robbery. In his complaint, Sait claimed that the money involved in the heist was sent by his uncle from Coimbatore.
“If the money wasn’t illegal, why would they rely on a parcel lorry to transport it?” the officer said.
The parcel agent in Coimbatore, lorry driver Bhuvaneswar Kumar, of Tamil Nadu, and Sait were all reportedly aware of the cash in the parcel. However, police believe that someone else who knew about the parcel tipped off the robbery gang.
During the initial investigation, the police suspected the driver’s involvement in the incident. However, they were unable to gather conclusive evidence against him.
“After the heist, the driver continued to drive the vehicle from Cheppad to Kollam and lodged the complaint much later. This delay has raised further suspicion that the money involved was illegal,” a police officer said on condition of anonymity.
Probe revealed that the transfer of money through parcel lorries is part of a well-established underground network spanning multiple states. In most cases, parcel company agents and even lorry owners are unaware of the contents they are transporting. Authorities suspect that money transfers from Coimbatore to Kollam via parcel services have occurred multiple times in the past.