A 1000-year-old panchaloha idol was seized by the police from a group of four people at Ariyaperumbakkam junction on Chennai-Bengaluru National Highway on Tuesday.
According to the police, a team of police personnel in plainclothes went to the Ariyaperumbakkam junction at around 7 p.m. on Tuesday after they received a tip-off that an idol was about to change hands.
Upon reaching, they found a mini-passenger van parked on the roadside with four people. A check of the vehicle led to the seizure of a 52-cm high panchaloha idol with a damaged portion on the back of the head.
Subsequently, the gang members were brought to the Baluchettychatram police station, where they confessed that they had planned to sell the idol for a sum of ₹2.50 crore to buyers from Malaysia.
The van and two motorcycles used by the gang was also impounded, police said.