COIMBATORE: Around Rs 15 crore worth gold and silver jewels were seized from a jewel trader in Namakkal by flying squad sleuths on Monday. Police said Mahalingam from Salem, who was found in possession of the jewels, had taken them in a jeep to be delivered in jewel shops in Namakkal and Tiruchy districts.

As he did not have valid documents to claim ownership the jewels were seized during a vehicle check. The jewels were then handed over to revenue department authorities and later kept in the treasury. In another incident in the Nilgiris, the sleuths seized Rs 69,400 from a tourist couple from Punjab following a vehicle check on Coonoor-Mettupalayam Road. The tourist couple, who claimed ignorance of the cash restrictions, was indeed moved into tears over the seizure.