Image credit : mathrubhumi.com

Kottayam: Wanted gold smuggler Abu Lais was arrested at Thrissur in connection with smuggling of huge quantity of gold in the country.

The DRI sleuths of Kozhikkode unit arrested him when he had come to attend the wedding of a relative in Lulu Convention Centre.

DRI had got intelligence reports about the smuggler’s programmes in Thrissur.

Abu of Koduvally in Kozhikkode had gone underground in 2013 after which he was declared wanted.

Attempts were earlier made to bring him to the country, but the attempts did not bear fruits.

However, he had travelled to the country number of times through Nepal evading DRI officials.

He had smuggled gold through different airports in the country.

Abu Lais had sparked a controversy when his photographs with some political leader appeared in dailies in 2017.

Congress leader T Siddique and Muslim Youth League State General Secretary P K Firoz were seen in the pictures with Abu Lais at a hotel room in Dubai.