Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 23 (IANS): A two-wheeler-borne man was kidnapped by a gang in two cars here.

The incident happened late Saturday night. The kidnapped person was identified as Avelam Asharaf of Thamarassery.

According to police, the kidnapping was due to a rivalry in the Middle East over some financial transactions. Ashraf is a businessman based out of Dubai.

Police said a passerby had informed them of the kidnapping and that he had seen a group of people in two cars, blocking a two-wheeler and forcing him into a car. According to Thamarassery police, the man was taken to Mukkam road in Kozhikode district, and police are probing CCTV visuals and identifying the vehicles that were involved in the kidnap to reach the perpetrators of the crime.

In several areas of the Malabar region in Kerala, smugglers resort to using carriers to bring in gold from Dubai and other Middle Eastern countries and in some cases, the carrier absconds with the gold leading to losses for the gang. This has led to bloody skirmishes with the gang who had sent the gold either forcibly kidnapping the carrier or his relative to get the gold back. There are also instances of other gangs who kidnap the carrier and relieve him of the gold.