A recent highway heist in Alappuzha has thrown light on a major tax evasion racket involving the clandestine movement of unaccounted cash by gold merchants across southern India. The robbery has uncovered a deep-rooted underground network used to avoid taxes in the high-value gold trade.
The incident came to light after Appas Ramachandra Sait, a Kollam-based Marwadi businessman dealing in gold ornaments, filed a complaint with the police. Sait, who supplies jewellery to various stores across the southern states, alleged that the stolen cash was dispatched by his uncle from Coimbatore via a parcel lorry.
Police sources suggest that merchants involved in the gold trade often resort to such illegal cash transfers to evade taxes that would otherwise be incurred on legitimate transactions. “If the money was clean, why would they send it in a parcel lorry instead of through legal banking channels?” a senior officer questioned.
The parcel, suspected to contain a large sum of unaccounted money, was being transported by Bhuvaneswar Kumar, a lorry driver from Tamil Nadu. The parcel agent, the driver, and Sait were reportedly all aware of the consignment’s contents. Investigators believe that someone with prior knowledge of the transfer tipped off the gang responsible for the heist.
Suspicion initially fell on the lorry driver, as police noted several irregularities in his conduct. “After the robbery occurred near Cheppad, the driver continued to Kollam and filed a complaint only much later. This delay is highly suspicious and suggests the money may have been illegal,” said a police official on condition of anonymity.
The investigation has since revealed that this form of money movement through parcel lorries is part of a larger, sophisticated network spanning multiple states. Authorities believe this method has been used repeatedly for transferring unaccounted cash between cities like Coimbatore and Kollam.
In many cases, parcel company staff and lorry owners remain unaware of the true nature of the packages they transport, providing a convenient cover for illegal transactions.
The police are continuing their probe into the heist and the broader tax evasion network, and further arrests are likely.
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