2020 Kerala gold smuggling case

On 5 July 2020, 30 kilograms (66 lb) of 24 carat gold worth ₹14.82 crores was seized by Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs at Thiruvananthapuram Airport from a diplomatic bag that was meant to be delivered to the UAE Consulate in Thiruvananthapuram.[1]

2020 Kerala gold smuggling case
VenueThiruvananthapuram International Airport
LocationThiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India
TypeSmuggling
InquiriesNIA, CBITC , Enforcement Directorate
Arrests6 (Till July 2020)
SuspectsSarit Nair, Swapna Suresh, Fasil Fareed, Sandheep Nair
ChargesSmuggling

M Sivashankar, the principal secretary to CM Pinarayi Vijayan, was suspended and removed from the post after preliminary inquiry confirmed that he had links with Swapna Suresh, one of the accused in the National Investigation Agency (NIA) probe.[2][[]]

Background

Gold smuggling was rampant in India until liberalisation, which repealed the Gold Control Act of 1968 that prohibited the import of gold except for jewellery.[3] Recently, there has been an upsurge of the same, partly due to an increase in custom duty on gold. Most of the gold enters India through UAE, it is also smuggled through the porous borders India shares with Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Myanmar.[4]

Multiple cases of gold smuggling were reported from Kerala in the past. During the 2018-2019 fiscal year, customs had seized about 251 kg of gold from various airports in Kerala. In 2019-20, 540 kg was seized which was more than double compared to that of the previous year. About 802 cases, related to gold smuggling, were also registered in the same year.[5]

Incident

On June 30 2020, acting on an anonymous tip, the Customs officials at Trivandrum International Airport detained a diplomatic baggage from Dubai on suspicion of smuggling. Since the bag came under diplomatic immunity, opening it without following procedures was not possible, especially since a call claiming to be from secretary of the consulate general of the UAE consulate in Thiruvananthapuram asked the Customs to release the baggage.[6]

On Sunday, July 5th 2020, the bag was opened in the presence of a senior officer from the high commissioner's office in Delhi and the consulate official whose name was on the baggage, to reveal the smuggled gold which weighed around 30 Kg.[7] The gold was concealed in baggage consisting of bathroom equipment.[8] Further investigation about the call led the initial inquiry to Swapna Suresh, an ex-UAE consulate employee and state IT department consultant.[9] The Indian officials said that it was first time in history that such a big scale smuggle happened under the name of a foreign nation's diplomatic office.[10]

On 10 July 2020, NIA took up investigation and registered FIR under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act against the 4 accused viz. Sarith P.S., Swapna Prabha Suresh, Fazil Fareed, and Sandeep Nair.[11]

Accused
  • Faisal Fareed

The prime accused and the alleged master mind, who apparently had smuggled 230 kg of gold into Kerala in over ten times using diplomatic baggage.[12]

  • Swapna Suresh

An ex-UAE consulate employee and state IT department consultant, Swapna Suresh had a very important role in the Kerala Gold Smuggling. She was directly linked with ex Kerala IT Secretary M Sivasankar, who was behind the appointment of Swapna, despite lack of educational qualification.[13]

Bureaucrats Involved
  • M Sivasankar

Sivasankar, an IAS officer who had an integral role in re-branding the outlook of a communist government, was in the centre of the scandal, especially due to his association with accused Swapna Suresh. Sivasankar was removed from the posts of principal secretary to CM and Information Technology (IT) secretary after news reports of his association with Swapna Suresh, charged by the National Investigation Agency in the smuggling racket.[14]

Reaction

The Congress party demanded the resignation of Pinarayi Vijayan over the alleged involvement of his office in the case. Ramesh Chennithala, opposition leader in state legislative, stated that "the current government in the state has tarnished the image of Kerala worldwide". Mullappally Ramachandran, state chief of the congress party, demanded a probe by RAW. UDF, a coalition led by the Congress party, also organised an online sit-in protest.[15]

Bharatiya Janata Party has organised hunger strikes seeking resignation of Chief Minister of Kerala. Several prominent leaders of the party including V. Muraleedharan, Minister of state for External Affairs, took part in the hunger strike.[16]

References
  1. Nanjappa, Vicky (7 July 2020). "Kerala Gold Smuggling: Who is Swapna Suresh?". Retrieved 9 August 2020.
  2. Unnithan, P. S. Gopikrishnan. "Former principal secretary to Kerala CM, M Sivasankar suspended over gold smuggling probe". India Today.
  3. "How government policy gave rise to gold smuggling in Kerala - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
  4. DelhiJuly 13, Prabhash K. Dutta New; July 13, 2020UPDATED:; Ist, 2020 17:57. "What makes India a gold smuggling destination?". India Today. Retrieved 10 August 2020.CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  5. "How government policy gave rise to gold smuggling in Kerala - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
  6. "What is Kerala's gold smuggling scam?". Times of India. 8 July 2020. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
  7. "Gold seized from diplomatic baggage at Thiruvananthapuram airport". Mathrubhumi. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
  8. Bhandari, Shashwat (6 July 2020). "30 kg gold hidden in diplomatic baggage seized at Trivandrum International Airport". www.indiatvnews.com. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
  9. "Who is Swapna Suresh, the woman with Abu Dhabi links accused in gold smuggling case?". The Week. 7 July 2020. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
  10. "Day after 30 kg gold seized at airport, Kerala IT dept staffer sacked; Oppn blames CM Vijayan". The Indian Express. 7 July 2020. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
  11. "NIA Takes up Investigation of Kerala Gold Smuggling Case" (PDF). nia.gov.in. 10 July 2020.
  12. "NIA Claims 'Mastermind' Faisal Fareed Smuggled 230 KG Of Gold From Dubai". ABP Live. 21 July 2020. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
  13. "Who is Swapna Suresh, the woman with Abu Dhabi links accused in gold smuggling case?". The Week. 7 July 2020. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
  14. "M Sivasankar: Bureaucrat who plugged Kerala into digital world". Indian Express. 11 July 2020. Retrieved 11 July 2020.
  15. "Kerala gold smuggling case: Congress demands CBI probe, seeks Pinarayi Vijayan's resignation". The Financial Express. 4 August 2020.
  16. "Kerala gold smuggling case: BJP leaders to go on hunger strike, demand CM's resignation". 30 July 2020.
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