COIMBATORE: A day after a raid on a godown for explosives turned out to a damp squib, Coimbatore city police on Thursday arrested four people on cheating charges.
The arrested were identified as N Anwar Sathath (51), M Idhayathullah (36), S Arsad (33) and F Wilson Robin (38), all hailing from Coimbatore.
According to sources, on Wednesday, Karumbukadai police received information that some people were trading explosive materials online. A team traced and detained four suspects and took them to a godown at Sennanur near Thondamuthur. Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad (BDDS) also pressed into service. A thorough search of the premises revealed that around two tonne of Potassium Chloride, which is a fertiliser, were stored there.
Sources said the godown was searched under suspicion that explosives were stored there and that the suspects tried to sell the chemical passing it off as mining explosive. Since there was no prima facie to book them for possessing explosive substances, police on Thursday arrested them on cheating charges.
According to police, the four were arrested under sections 406 and 420 of IPC for allegedly cheating of Rs 2.08 lakh from R Sangam Shah (44), a trader from Vadodara in Gujarat. Sources said Shah had lodged a complaint in June 2023 alleging that the gang took money from him to deliver the chemical but did not.