Even as a gold smuggling case has been a raging discussion in Kerala over the past few days, more illegally brought gold has been seized in Thiruvananthapuram, Kannur and Kozhikode airports.
The Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) seized 1.455 kg of gold in compound form in Thiruvananthapuram from three passengers travelling from Dubai. The gold was concealed by the passengers inside the waistband and undergarments, tweeted the Commissionerate of Customs (Preventive), Cochin.
AIU Trivandrum seized 1.455 kg gold in compound form from 3 passenger travelling from Dubai. The gold was concealed by the passenger inside the waist band and undergarments.@cbic_india
— Commissionerate of Customs (Preventive), Cochin (@ccphqrskochi) July 13, 2020
@cgstcustvm pic.twitter.com/bha9Yx2Bg2
In Kannur, 2.637 kg of gold in compound was seized from six passengers coming from Dubai. Five passengers carried gold paste in their waistbands and one passenger carried it in his undergarment. One arrest was carried out last night and further investigation is going on.
On Sunday morning, the Commissionerate wrote that 2.965 kg of gold was seized by the AIU in Kozhikode from four passengers travelling from Ras Al Khaimah on flight SG 9026. Among them, 1.8 kg of gold was seized from a woman passenger. Three others carried 388 gm, 390 gm and 387 gm respectively.
In the last week, a controversial smuggling case concerning 30 kg of gold caught at the Thiruvananthapuram airport has been closely followed by the media. A key accused – Sarith – was earlier caught, while two other accused in the case – Sandeep Nair and Swapna Suresh – were nabbed from Bengaluru by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) late on Saturday evening. Sandeep and Swapna were presented before the NIA Court in Kochi on Sunday and remanded to 14 days’ custody.
The case had caused a political storm when Swapna’s name cropped up, with allegations of her connections with the UAE Consulate (where she was a former employee) and with M Sivasankar, principal secretary of the IT Department. Sivasankar was removed from the post as well as from the post of secretary to the Chief Minister’s office following the allegations. The opposition UDF as well as the BJP held protests across the state against the government, without following COVID-19 protocols.