Kerala: UAE consulate officials to be quizzed in gold smuggling case

An official of the UAE consulate in Thiruvananthapurm is likely to be quizzed by the Customs in connection with the smuggling of 30 kilogram gold from UAE to India through Thiruvananthapurm airport under the cover of diplomatic baggage.

According to sources, the Customs have sought MEA nod to quiz the consulate official with diplomatic immunity. Once the nod was received he would be quizzed.

With the smuggling using diplomatic baggage assuming international ramifications, various central agencies, including the Intelligence Bureau, were also looking into the case.

Sarith Kumar, a former PRO of the consulate who was already held in connection with the smuggling, reportedly turned up for clearing the diplomatic cargo from Thiruvananthapuram airport with an official authorisation letter issued by an attache of the consulate. Hence the attache needs to be quizzed to know if it was a genuine letter or a forged one. The consignment was addresed to Charge d’ Affairs.

Meanwhile, the baggage from which the gold were seized was not a diplomatic baggage, but was only addressed to the consulate official.

Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan said that the baggage was not in the diplomatic baggage category as it was not sent by the embassy officially, but was only addressed to an official in the UAE. It was only written on the baggage that it was diplomatic baggage and hence the customs sought MEA's nod. He also said that central agencies were seriously probing into all aspects of the case.

A former consulate employee, Swapna Suresh, who is a key accused in the smuggling was still absconding, while one of her accomplice, identified as Sandeep Nair, who runs a automobile carbon cleaning centre in Thiruvananthapuram, was also wanted by the customs in the case. It was suspected that around ten consignments were sent by a person in UAE by misusing diplomatic cover.

Opposition demand CM's resignation

Opposition Congress in Kerala demanded resignation of Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan taking moral responsibility for his the nexus of his office with gold smuggling accused as well as the appointment of one of the accused in an agency under the CM. Vijayan could not evade from the responsibility by maintaining that he was not aware of the appointment, said Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala.