Smuggling

Accused former UAE Consulate staffers Swapna & Sarith confess that in a year they smuggled a total of 152kg gold bars in 23 trips

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Shocking details are emerging before the agencies on the interrogation of the accused people in the gold smuggling by misusing diplomatic baggage through Kerala’s United Arab Emirates (UAE) Consulate. The accused and former Consulate staffers Swapna and Sarith, and cargo agent Sandeep Nair confessed that within a year they have engaged 23 times in gold smuggling activities involving 152kg of gold bars from Dubai to Kerala. This is including the last smuggling of 30kg gold bars in which they were caught. The previous 22 times, starting from the first operation on July 9, 2019, they smuggled total gold bars weighing 122kg for different wholesale jewelry agents and shops. The last consignment of 30kg was the biggest out of greed and overconfidence, said investigators.

Swapna was the Executive Secretary of the Consulate General and Sarith was the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Consulate. All the 23 consignments were taken out from the customs cargo section by Sarith personally with the help of the other accused and cargo agent Sandeep Nair. Normally UAE diplomatic baggage was claimed to have food items for the diplomats from their home country and the gold bars were placed among the other items. In earlier consignments, around 5kg to 10kg gold bars were camouflaged along with food items. Out of greed this time the accused put 30kg gold bars in diplomatic baggage that weighed 75kg.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s Secretary M Sivasankar IAS was suspended for his close ties with Swapna, who was later posted in a Kerala Government project.

Swapna got Rs.15 lakhs and Sarith got Rs.10 lakhs from each consignment. These consignments were packed in Dubai by the other accused Kerala based businessman Faisal Fareed. He is now arrested by Dubai Police after India cancelled his passport and would soon be deported to India and handed over to National Investigation Agency (NIA) and Customs who are presently probing the case.

Meanwhile, UAE Attaché Rashed Khamis Ali Musaiqri Alshemeli fled to his home country on July 7. His security person from Kerala Police tried to commit suicide. The security person is now out of danger and NIA and Customs are expected to question him soon. This is not the first time UAE diplomats are engaged in gold smuggling. In March 2013, the diplomat in Delhi Embassy was also caught with a gold trader Kamal Jain for smuggling 37kg of gold bars from Delhi Airport[1].

The recent developments have pushed the Left party ruling Kerala Government on the verge of collapse, with wide-ranging protests across a State that will be going for elections in May 2021. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s Secretary M Sivasankar IAS was suspended for his close ties with Swapna, who was later posted in a Kerala Government project. Sivasankar was a regular visitor at her home and posted just 10th standard passed Swapna as Operation Manager in an IT project. Sivasankar was Secretary IT too and Swapna was posted at a huge salary of Rs.1.70 lakh per month. Sivasankar’s dubious promotion to IAS cadre is detailed in this video recording of T G Mohandas titled Gold Smuggling in God’s own country[2].

References:

[1] UAE & Gold smuggling. First 37kg caught in Delhi in 2013, now 30kg in Kerala. Accused confesses smuggling 12 times in diplomatic baggageJul 17, 2020, PGurus.com

[2] In conversation with T G Mohandas President VHS Kerala on Gold smuggling in God’s own countryJul 17, 2020, PGurus.com

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We are a team of focused individuals with expertise in at least one of the following fields viz. Journalism, Technology, Economics, Politics, Sports & Business. We are factual, accurate and unbiased.

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    • Read again:

      "confessed that within a year they have engaged 23 times in gold smuggling activities involving 152kg of gold bars from Dubai to Kerala. This is including the last smuggling of 30kg gold bars in which they were caught. The previous 22 times, starting from the first operation on July 9, 2019, they smuggled total gold bars weighing 122kg"

  • Well, Swapna, Sarith, Sandeep, Sivasankar Sits rather well as it Sounds Straight-Smart-Stupid “S” combo Operators. Now, will These Ss now Sing Smartly both alone and in Combo to expose the Commander-in-Chief, the real master mind, Kingpin, of this UAE-Kerala Operation, the Commander in Chief? When we see how each one was slotted into top position in the Kerala Govt. top echelons with no proven track record of intelligence and worthiness to take up such positions, it is Crystal clear and no brainer, it is a well planned scheme perpetrated and organized at the highest level pointing to role of the top brass. Is the the real Don, Kingpin Kerala’s Powerful & the Victorious, true to his very name, the leader of the S Gang, Honorable PV Sir?

  • Well, Swapna, Sarith, Sandeep, Sivasankar Sits rather well as a Sounds Straight-Smart “S” combo Operators. Now, will These Ss now Sing Smartly both alone and in Combo to expose the Chief Kerala Kingpin, the real brain behind this Kerala Gold Smuggling Operation, the Commander in Chief of Operation UAE-Kerala. Is the the real Don, Kerala’s PV Sir?

  • Stupid Stooges: Sarith, Swapna, Sivasankar Combo Antinational Coolies of Kerala, are they ready out to Sing the glory of the leader of their land of Gods, the Kerala Kingpin, the Powerful and Victorious Pinarayi Vijayan as the Commander-in-Chief of the Communal Communist Corrupt, Conman Regime. Appointment of Sivasankar as the Principal Secretary of CM was a planned conspiracy, orchestrated dubious underhanded corrupt process as lot of Regular IAS officers on the cadre were ignored to get him to the highest office to perform clandestine Antinational activities. So, is the dubious, glaring parachuting of Swapna from the UAE Consulate office into PV mafia’s Den. If NIA fails to get to the bottom of this serious scandal, with Chinese stacking ammunition in Hambantota port in containers, pseudo-communists like PV will be out to sell the Land of Gods to Chinkis for a cheap money. Get to the bottom of this case to save India from the clutches of Deshdrohis-Drohis masquerading in white Dhothi. We have one character of this kind, Mr. P. Chidambaram going about blabbering from the adjacent Tamilnadu. Are Keralites also double distilled unadulterated dumbs/muffs to let them ruled by a Swindling Capitalist masquerading as a pseudo-Communist? Time for Kerala to speak and act if they are smart.

  • The success of the NIA investigation would be undermined if they are hindered from going to the very bottom of it all. Big political and business names are involved.. Anti-CAA and Shaheen Bagh model protests were fuelledby Islamic groups using the gold money. It's going to get murkier. How far is the Centre willing to go? Will compromises be made for petty electoral gains? We will have to wait and watch.

  • It is astounding that LDF government in Kerala, under Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan is unmindful and indifferent to the gold smuggling case, involving his principal secretary M Sivasankar, who is currently being interrogated by the National Investigation Agency (NIA). The government did not bother to register a police complaint in this regard despite regular consignments of gold was being brought into the country through diplomatic channel by Swapna Suresh and Sandeep Nair, over a period of ten months that was being put to use for terror and anti-national activities.

  • The arrest of Faisal Fareed in Dubai, is yet another important milestone by the NIA, in the ongoing gold smuggling case, who is said to have sent gold on forged documents to the UAE mission in Thiruvananthapuram; and is the third accused in the case registered by the central agency. With the arrest of Faisal, more aspects in the case will come to light that involves top individuals in the executive as well as in the administration.

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