Courier service staffer arrested in Ernakulam gold theft case

KOCHI: Ending a one-year-old mystery surrounding the theft of gold ornaments from packages sent by a Bengaluru-based courier service firm, the Ernakulam Rural police on Monday arrested an employee of a courier service unit in Aluva.

Sandeep, 31, of PC Line House, Azhikkode, Kannur, was arrested by the police based on a complaint from the Bengaluru firm which sent the ornaments to a fake address provided by him.

According to the police, the accused stole ten gold ornaments worth nearly Rs 6 lakh using the fake address. “His operation is entirely different from other fraudsters. Leveraging his position of a courier service staffer, he used to book ornaments from the Bengaluru company using a fake address.

Whenever the package containing ornaments to the fake address arrived, he would remove the gold and send the package back citing the recipient was unavailable at the location,” the police said.

The company filed a complaint after they found that the returned boxes were empty.

“Sandeep had absconded after the incident,” said an officer with the Ernakulam Rural police.