Jaipur Airport Customs seizes over 220g gold from Saudi-return; here's how it was hidden

In a shocking incident, customs team from Jaipur International Airport found 220.19 grams of gold in possession of a traveller returning from Saudi Arabian capital Riyh. What raises eyebrows is gold was hidden inside an iron lock which would seem like a rmal lock. Commissioner of Customs  Subhash Agarwal confirmed finding of gold with Go Air passenger who arrived at airport with Flight number G8-6036.

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incident assumes importance as massive Gold Smuggling Racket h come to fore in early July when Custom officials seized 30 kg of gold worth Rs.15 crore at  Thiruvananthapuram Airport from a diplomatic cargo dressed to a person in UAE Consulate.

National Investigation ncy (NIA) which is handling Kerala Gold Case has even hinted at possibility of a Hawala network and  smuggling being linked to terror-financing. Sarith Kumar, who worked at  UAE Consulate, was arrested in this regard. Reportedly, he told Customs about role of Swapna Suresh, an ex-Consulate employee w working as  manr of  Kerala State Information Techlogy Infrastructure Limited.  Kerala Police which submitted its report also highlighted that over 100 kgs of gold has been smuggled in and out along with Rs 1000 crore of hawala transactions in past year.

case took a political turn after photos with Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan surfaced. It has been alleged that Suresh has links with CM and has been seen with him at parties when she was working at UAE Consulate. Following backlash over her appointment, she was sacked by state government. On Thursday, Vijayan anunced that  suspension of his former Principal Secretary M Sivasankar pending departmental inquiry. It was reportedly found that he h violated All-India Services Conduct rules due to his connections with Thiruvananthapuram gold smuggling accused.

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