A routine check of a vehicle near Kerala-Karnataka border has resulted in a massive cash seizure around Wayanad, in which police has recovered Rs 1.44 crore hidden in a special compartment hidden inside the driver’s seat compartment.
An anti-narcotics squad of the Thirunelli Police and the Government’s District Anti-Narcotics Special Action Force (DANSAF) caught a vehicle on the move from the Karnataka side while the seizure happened at Tholpetty.
On a thorough examination, police found bags of money in a hidden compartment under the driver’s seat of the service truck. As per the official statistics the total amount recovered itself was Rs 1,44,50,000.
Three occupants of the car were arrested after the seizure. Police state that Prabhu Raj (20) of Nadakkavu Street, Vadakara in Kozhikode, Swapnil (23) of Panoor in Kozhikode and Rahul (26) of Maharashtra are the suspects involved.
Those funds are being seized with an investigation ongoing to seek out the source of those funds, the intended targets of those funds and the person or persons who were to receive those funds. The vehicle and the way the compartment was put together to hide the bills are also being investigated by Kerala police.
It was a co-operation and a joint effort by the Thirunelli Police and the DANSAF team.
The episode once again brought Kerala’s prime highway to Karnataka to the forefront, Tholpetty, which has now become the focus of attention on how accused of unaccounted money are getting into and out of the state using modified vehicles.