What began as a hunt from Chenthitta for a chain-snatching gang travelling in a white Tata Indica car led the police on Wednesday to a haul of illicit spirit hidden in a similar car parked near the Ganapathy temple at Pazhavangady.
The police said an alert of a chain-snatching incident reached them around 7 a.m., with the complainant, a 52-year-old woman from Valiyasala, reporting that three men in a white Indica car had snatched her three-sovereign gold chain while she was out for a morning walk with her husband near Chenthitta, which falls under the Thampanoor police station limits.
The police launched a hunt for the car, and around 11 a.m., a team from the Fort police station chanced upon a similar car parked near the temple at Pazhavangady. Inspection of the car revealed eight plastic cans, containing around 280 litres of spirit, hidden in the boot of the car. The driver of the car was nabbed, and identified as Rajesh, 26, of Marannalloor.
A. Aji Chandran Nair, Circle Inspector (Fort), said Rajesh, who was an accused in a murder case and another attempt to murder case earlier, had indicated that he was only a carrier and that the contraband was from Tamil Nadu, to be taken to Adoor. He would be produced before court on Thursday.
K. Sanjaykumar Gurudin, Deputy Commissioner (Law and Order), said efforts were on to trace the source of the spirit. A separate hunt was on to nab the chain-snatchers. There was a similar incident, involving a gang in a white Indica car snatching a gold chain, from near Vettucaud earlier this month. Whether the two incidents were connected was yet to be ascertained.
