Ernakulam (Kerala): In the case of gold smuggling through diplomatic baggage at the Thiruvananthapuram airport, the customs imposed a huge fine on the accused, including two former diplomats of the UAE Consulate. The Customs authorities issued an order in this connection.
A total fine of Rs 66.65 crore was imposed on the 44 accused, including Swapna Suresh, the prime accused, PS Sarith, Sandeep Nair, CM's former principal secretary M Sivasankar and KT Ramees. One Consul General of the UAE Consulate and former Admin Attaché should also pay a fine of Rs 6 crore each. Former Consul General of the UAE Consulate Jamal Hussain Alzabi and the former Admin Attaché Rashid Khamis Al Ashmei were booked in the case.
The order was issued by Kochi Divisional Customs Preventive Commissioner Rajendra Kumar. The accused Swapna Suresh, PS Sarith, Sandeep Nair and KT Ramis have to pay a fine of Rs 6 crore each. Former Principal Secretary to CM Shiv Shankar has to pay a fine of Rs 50 lakhs.
Kapitan Agencies has to pay Rs 4 crore. A Rs 2.5 crore fine was imposed on Faisal Farid, P Muhammed Shafi, E Seithalavi and TM Samju. Swapna Suresh's husband S Jayashankar and Rabin Shameed have to pay a fine of Rs 2 crore each. Rs 1.5 crore was imposed on M Jalal, PT Abdu, TM Muhammad Anwar, PT Ahmedkutty and Mohammad Mansoor and Rs 1 crore on Mohammad Shamim. Other accused were fined a sum of Rs 2 lakhs to Rs 50 lakhs.
It was on July 5, 2020, customs seized 30.245 kg of smuggled gold worth Rs 14.22 crore from the Thiruvananthapuram airport cargo complex. It was estimated the accused smuggled around Rs 46.5 crore worth of gold within five months from November 2019 to March 2020.
The accused were fined as part of the customs procedure in the case. The defendants can approach the Customs Excise and Service Tax Tribunal against the order of the Preventive Commissioner. The Tribunal order can also be challenged in the High Court. The Thiruvananthapuram gold smuggling case is pending before the court in Kochi, which deals with economic offences.
