Kerala: AIU seizes gold worth Rs 50 lakh at Kannur Airport, one held

The Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) in Kerala has seized 1.12 kgs gold in compound form (978.5 gram extracted) valued at Rs 50.42 lakhs from a passenger in Kannur International Airport. Earlier on August 31, the AIU in Thiruvananthapuram seized 225.38 grams of gold in foil form valued at Rs 11.11 lakhs, concealed inside a trolley bag.

The passenger has been arrested and an investigation is underway. However, there have been multiple such cases in the recent past. Earlier on August 27, the Customs Preventive Unit (CPU) in Palakkad seized over 3 kg of smuggled gold bars and ornaments worth Rs 1.70 crores and Rs 6 lakh in cash.

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All of these developments also come at the backdrop of the ongoing investigation in the Kerala Gold Smuggling case where on July 5, Customs officials seized 30 kg of gold worth Rs.15 crore at the Thiruvananthapuram Airport from a diplomatic cargo addressed to a person in the UAE Consulate. Sarith Kumar, who worked at the UAE Consulate was arrested in this regard. Reportedly, he told the Customs about the role of Swapna Suresh, an ex-Consulate employee now working as the manager of the Kerala State Information Technology Infrastructure Limited. The case took a political turn after photos with Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan surfaced.

It has been alleged that Suresh has links with the CM and has been seen with him at parties when she was working at the UAE Consulate. Following the backlash over her appointment, she was sacked by the state government. Additionally, a state government-appointed two-member committee ruled that former Principal Secretary to the CM M Sivasankar had violated the All-India Services Conduct rules due to his connections with the Thiruvananthapuram gold smuggling accused. Based on its recommendation, Vijayan announced Sivasankar's suspension pending inquiry. 

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