<p>The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Thursday asked the National Investigating Agency (NIA) to probe the gold smuggling using diplomatic baggage from UAE, as the "organised" operations might have "serious" national security implications.<br /><br />The order came as a political controversy erupted over the gold smuggling case unearthed at Thiruvananthapuram airport where gold was smuggled from UAE using diplomatic parcels to its consulate in the Kerala capital.<br /><br />The Customs had recovered the gold from the diplomatic baggage meant for the UAE consulate. With the case having links to a foreign country, several central agencies like the Enforcement Directorate, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, Intelligence Bureau and Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) were also looking into the case.<br /><br />A Home Ministry spokesperson said the MHA has "permitted the NIA to to investigate the Thiruvananthapuram Airport Gold smuggling case, as the organised smuggling operation may have serious implications for national security".<br /><br />The office of Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan was also dragged into the case after some of the accused had links with senior state government officials. Vijayan on Wednesday shot off a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying the smuggling using diplomatic cover had many angles that warranted a thorough investigation.<br /><br />One of the accused Swapna Suresh, who is on the run, was working as a consultant in a project under the IT Department and now removed IT Secretary M Shivashankar was said to be close to her.<br /><br />Swapna, who is also considered close to a number of politicians and senior bureaucrats, was a former employee of the UAE consulate and is accused of running the racket along with a former PRO of the consulate Sarath and others.<br /><br />The baggage had landed in the airport earlier but the Customs had not released it after it found the baggage suspicious. Sarath had allegedly approached the Customs officials on behalf of the consulate for clearing it.<br /><br />The Customs officials then approached the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) to open the baggage as per the procedure. Once it got the nod, it opened it and found that the baggage contained smuggled gold weighing around 30 kg along with food items.</p>
<p>The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Thursday asked the National Investigating Agency (NIA) to probe the gold smuggling using diplomatic baggage from UAE, as the "organised" operations might have "serious" national security implications.<br /><br />The order came as a political controversy erupted over the gold smuggling case unearthed at Thiruvananthapuram airport where gold was smuggled from UAE using diplomatic parcels to its consulate in the Kerala capital.<br /><br />The Customs had recovered the gold from the diplomatic baggage meant for the UAE consulate. With the case having links to a foreign country, several central agencies like the Enforcement Directorate, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, Intelligence Bureau and Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) were also looking into the case.<br /><br />A Home Ministry spokesperson said the MHA has "permitted the NIA to to investigate the Thiruvananthapuram Airport Gold smuggling case, as the organised smuggling operation may have serious implications for national security".<br /><br />The office of Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan was also dragged into the case after some of the accused had links with senior state government officials. Vijayan on Wednesday shot off a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying the smuggling using diplomatic cover had many angles that warranted a thorough investigation.<br /><br />One of the accused Swapna Suresh, who is on the run, was working as a consultant in a project under the IT Department and now removed IT Secretary M Shivashankar was said to be close to her.<br /><br />Swapna, who is also considered close to a number of politicians and senior bureaucrats, was a former employee of the UAE consulate and is accused of running the racket along with a former PRO of the consulate Sarath and others.<br /><br />The baggage had landed in the airport earlier but the Customs had not released it after it found the baggage suspicious. Sarath had allegedly approached the Customs officials on behalf of the consulate for clearing it.<br /><br />The Customs officials then approached the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) to open the baggage as per the procedure. Once it got the nod, it opened it and found that the baggage contained smuggled gold weighing around 30 kg along with food items.</p>
