Mumbai: The anti-extortion cell of the Mumbai Crime Branch on Wednesday arrested Guru Satam’s close aide Kevin, who allegedly ran a hawala business and managed funds for the fugitive gangster from Hong Kong.

Krishnakumar Balakrishnan Nair alias Kevin was arrested in Kerala after an intelligence input said he was travelling from Hong Kong to his home town Thiruvananthapuram to meet his family. Kevin, 46, was detained as soon as he landed at the Trivandrum International Airport on Sunday, and was later arrested by Mumbai Police. A special court for the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) sent him in police custody till January 16.

Kevin was wanted in an extortion case and a lookout circular was also issued against him. He, along with others from the gang, was accused of threatening and extorting money from Mumbai builders and businessmen. In July, five other members of the gang — identified as Amol Vichare, Bharat Solanki, Rajesh Ambre, Bipin Dhotre and Dipak Lodhia — were also arrested.

Dhotre regularly collected extortion money from Mumbai and sent it to Kevin through hawala transactions, the police said. During interrogation, Kevin reportedly told police that Satam is currently taking refuge in South Africa.

The entire matter came to light after a builder complained to the police about threat calls he was receiving from other countries demanding extortion in the name of Guru Satam. “We received a complaint from a builder who was receiving extortion calls from the Satam gang. The builder had paid an extortion of Rs 50 lakh. They were demanding more money from him. We are investigating the matter,” a police officer said.

Satam, who has been dodging the police for over 30 years, was once a close associate of gangster Chota Rajan.