CHENNAI: Sleuths of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence arrested a 51-year-old man from Andhra Pradesh at the Chennai Internatioanl Airport and seized five statues including three 16th century panchaloha idols worth lakhs that he had attempted to smuggle to Hong Kong for sale on Thursday. Officials suspected that a large network could be operating behind the smuggling attempt. Acting on a tip off, DRI officials intercepted Govindarajulu (51) of Vettipalam, Prakasham district in AP, when he was about to board a flight to Hong Kong early Thursday morning. When his baggage was inspected, the officials said they found three 16th century idols of Mahaveer made of panchaloha (each half a foot in height), one sandalwood statue of Buddha, a rosewood statue of a Chinese god and a few ancient writing instruments.The man said he had purchased the idols from Bangalore but produced no valid documents. He had also told the officials that he resided with his sister in Saidapet but when the officials verified the address, his sister had told them that he had not visited her house for the past one year.Officials said that the panchaloha idols alone could cost more than Rs 10 lakh and that according to the Antiquities and Art Treasures Act 1972, transportation of such idols was not allowed. “He was taking the idols for sale in Hong Kong. He was running a plastic shop in AP. He surely could not have bought the idols by himself.” “He seems to have come especially for this transportation but he’s not coming out with the information,” said C Rajan, Additional Director General, DRI. Sources said that the man could have stolen the idols from AP and that investigation was on to trace the network working behind and the money flow. “He had brought the idols thinking that he could get through the scanner. The sandalwood and rosewood statues cannot be identified but we can find panchaloha idols easily while scanning,” an official said.
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