Police hunts for Martin’s close aide
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Cops are tracing a close Delhi-based aide to lotto king Santiago Martin, who is suspected to be his proxy to run the shady businesses while Martin is in jail.
“We are trying to zero in on this aide who runs Martin’ empire when he is in jail. For this we wanted to interrogate two former lottery agents, John Kennedy and John Britto, who could provide valuable information.
But the duo in Tamil Nadu are absconding,” Thrikkakara Assistant Commissioner Bijo Alexander, who leads the special investigation team, said.
However, he denied reports that the two had gone overseas. “We’re thinking of sending a team to other States to get some lead.
Tamil Nadu police too may be looking out for them but we have received no report so far from them,” he said.
Last month, the special police team had interrogated Martin in connection with the seizure of fake ‘Sikkim’ lottery worth nearly Rs 35 lakh from Nedumbassery Airport in January. So far, five people have been arrested in the case.
The case pertains to recovery of 11 gunny bags of single digit lotteries worth Rs 33.6 lakh from the domestic cargo terminal of the airport here on Janu-ary 6.
The consignment, brought as cargo consignment by a Spice Jet flight from Delhi, was dispatc-hed in the name of one Kapil from Delhi.
The noose tightening on the fake lotto businesses as public opinion in Kerala is heavily weighted against fly-by-night operators, who bribed their ways through, greasing the political-bureaucratic nexus.
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