Published 12:45 IST, July 8th 2020
Kerala gold smuggling: CBI team reaches Kochi Customs office, seeks preliminary report
In a major development in the Kerala gold smuggling racket, a team of Central Bureau Investigation (CBI) reached Kochi Customs Office to investigate the case.
In a major development in the Kerala gold smuggling case, a team of Central Bureau Investigation (CBI) reached Kochi Customs Office on Wednesday. Sources said that CBI has sought a preliminary report from the Customs on the developments in the case.
CBI questions Sandeep Nair's wife
The sources added that Customs has sought permission from the Ministry of External Affairs to question a person from the UAE consulate who is allegedly involved in the scam. They also doubt that someone from the UAE consulate is helping Swapna Suresh in this matter.
Sources say that Swapna also got a conduct certificate from the UAE consulate before joining as operations manager at KSITI and now officials are doubting that someone is helping Swapna from inside the consulate. The CBI team has meanwhile started questioning the wife of Sandeep Nair (absconding suspect) in the Customs preventive office.
Earlier in the day, Customs officials names Sandeep Nair who is involved along with Sarith Kumar and Swapna Suresh and said he is absconding.
Officials to crack the entire chain of crime in 2 days
Officials said that Sandeep, the partner in crime with Sarith, is on the run but the department is hopeful that they will be able to crack the entire chain of crime in 2 days. Meanwhile, late-night raids at the flat of Swapna Suresh continued as Police took charge of CCTV footage from the building.
The UAE Embassy in India on Tuesday said that the authorities had launched an independent investigation into the gold smuggling case. The Embassy said that the culprits have not only committed a major crime but also "sought to tarnish the reputation of the UAE mission in India" and they will not be spared.
"The authorities in the UAE have launched an investigation to find out who sent the cargo containing gold to the address of the UAE consulate," the UAE Embassy in New Delhi said in a tweet.
Kerala gold smuggling racket
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 Swapna 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. Moreover, Principal Secretary to CM M Sivasankar has been replaced after his role in hiring Suresh came under the scanner.
Updated 12:45 IST, July 8th 2020