Dubai-based gang's henchmen chase runaway 'gold carrier' to Amethi, land in police net

LUCKNOW: Amethi police busted a Dubai-based gold smuggling gang when a rookie carrier, who had run away with a consignment to his village in the district, and gangmen hot on his heels landed in cops' net.
Police recovered Rs 12 lakh and 566gm gold from the gangmen's possession after the bust on Saturday night. Those arrested were identified as Irfan and Iqrar, both brothers from Amethi, Puneet Singh of Haridwar, Rafique of Rajasthan, Ashwini Tyagi of Saharanpur, and Sachin Kumar of Muzaffarnagar. All are in their 20s.
Superintendent of police, Amethi, Elamaran, said that it all started when a local resident, Iqrar (28), went to Dubai on September 28 in search of a job.
“After he failed to find a job, he joined a gold smuggling gang. He was given 566gm of gold to smuggle from Al Karama in Dubai to Qatar. But instead of going to Qatar, Iqrar flew back to Amethi with the consignment hidden in his underpants by dodging the customs department on November 2,” said the officer.
The gang tracked Iqrar on the basis of electronic surveillance and instructed its member Rafique in Rajasthan to retrieve the gold from him, said the police.
Rafique and others reached Amethi and started assaulting Iqrar at his Maumanganj house under Jais police station area of the district. However, both sides ran out of luck when a UP 112 police patrol reached the spot after being informed about the ruckus and apprehended all of them.
During the interrogation, Iqrar confessed that he was Class 8 pass out and had gone to Dubai as he was not getting a job here.
“I wanted to earn and support my family, so I went to Dubai with the help of a friend. But got desperate after having failed to get a job for two months,” he disclosed to police.
“I was lured by a gang for a handsome amount for smuggling gold from Dubai to Qatar. Sensing trouble, I planned to escape to India and sell the gold,” Iqrar said in his confession to the police.
Iqrar said that through his ironsmith friend first, he got a small tin box made and then got stitched an underpant in which the tix box could be hidden and escape the metal detectors at airports.
After landing and getting frisked at Delhi airport, he safely came out and sold one packet of 200 gm to a businessman. Thereafter, he came to Jais.