Kozhikode: When a special team of the Kozhikode police rescued four youths from a gang of kidnappers on Wednesday, they also unveiled a sordid saga of deceit and four youths being perpetrators and eventual victims of an illegal trade.

The four youths and the seven-member gang that held them captive and tortured them for days together were dealing in ambergris (sometimes referred to as whale vomit). It is also called floating gold as it is valued in crores of rupees in the international market. (Ambergis is a waxy substance that originates from the digestive system of the protected sperm whales. It is used in the cosmetic industry to make long-lasting perfumes).

The six youths - Sadique Rehman, Akhil Nazeem and Abdul Muhzin, from Tanur and Karuvarakkundu areas in Malappuram, Anugrah, and brothers Adarsh and Abhinand from Maradu, Beypore - were kidnapped on January 15 by a gang for a sales gone awry.

The kidnappers - Mohammed Ashfaq (27) from Ottappalam, Mohammed Sabir (28) and Hamsathul Tashreeque (24) from Cherpulassery, Pothukadan Mohammed Ajnas (19) and Mohammed Ramees from Perinthalmanna, and Mohammed Thasreef (19) and Pakkattil Fayiz (22) from Melattoor – were arrested from a remote resort at Kodikuthimala in Perinthalmanna.

According to police, the events that led to the kidnapping began when Ashfaq procured 10 kg of ambergris worth Rs 4 crore from a dealer. Looking to sell it for a profit, he contacted Rehman, Nazeem and Muhzin, who functioned as middlemen for the trade. They, in turn, contacted Maradu native Akhilesh, who currently works at IIT Kanpur.

Akhilesh got them in touch with his brothers Adarsh and Abhinand, and his friend Anugrah. Through them, the 'middlemen' got in contact with one Nikhil, also from Maradu in Beypore.

The deal took a turn for the worse when Nikhil tricked the middlemen and swindled the ambergris from them after claiming to have struck a contract to sell it for Rs 7 crore. This provoked Ashfaq and team. They assumed Nikhil took their whale vomit with the middlemen's knowledge. To recover the goods, the seven-member gang kidnapped the youths on the evening of January 15 and took them to the Perinthalmanna resort in three vehicles, ACP K Sudarshan told Onmanorama.

By 2 am on January 16, Anugrah's father filed a man missing complaint with the police after his son failed to return home. By then, the gang had made multiple calls to victims' houses asking for the money they lost in the soured deal.

After two days of torture, they dropped off Abhinand and Anugrah at the Perinthalmanna bus stand early morning on Wednesday. After they escaped, the two also alerted the police about their whereabouts. 

Police had by then traced the records of the calls made to victims' homes. They also collected the details of the vehicles via the Automatic Number Plate Recognition cameras installed at the city border, Beypore SI Shuhaib told Onmanorama. From the footage, Abhinand and Anugrah identified the cars in which they were kidnapped.

The vehicles turned out to be from rental service. Police got in touch with the business owner and he, in turn, located them to the resort from the GPS tracker installed in the cars. 

The gang kept on torturing the four youths in the resort and by the time police rescued them, they were in a bad condition, a senior police officer said.

The special action group under Kozhikode Deputy Commissioner of Police Anuj Paliwal and a local police team that included Beypore SI Shuhaib and Feroke SI Anoop and led by Medical College Asst Police Commissioner K Sudarsan rescued the kidnapped youths and nabbed the gang.

Special action group members Hadil Kunnummal, Sreejith Padiyath, A K Arjun, Asst Sub Inspector Lalu from Beypore police station, Civil Police officers Hasif, Jithin Lal, Babu Swalah were also part of the operation.