Buzzed off UAE attaché’s gunman attempts suicide. Gold smuggling through diplomatic baggage case gets murky

With every passing day, the gold smuggling case using United Arab Emirates (UAE) Consulate’s Diplomatic baggage gets murkier. The gunman of the UAE attaché who buzzed off UAE Attaché’s gunman was found after he attempted suicide on Friday. Jayaghosh, the gunman, a Kerala Police constable deputed for the security of the Dubai-flown attaché Rashed Khamis Ali Musaiqri Alshemeli was under tremendous tension after call records proved that a series of calls from the controversial accused Swapna was made to his phone to connect with the attaché, whose diplomatic bag was caught with smuggling of 30 kilograms of gold bars from Dubai.

The controversial diplomat Alshemeli left for Delhi on July 5 evening, hours after Thiruvananthapuram Air Customs questioned him along with the accused Sarith, a former Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Consulate. On July 7, the attaché flew back to Dubai and the latest on him is that a National Investigation Agency (NIA) officer will take his statement from his home country. He had already claimed to Air Customs that he was not aware of the gold bars in his baggage which was meant for food items dispatched from Dubai. What an innocent claim! No one on earth is going to believe this – and now it is found that Swapna, who worked in the UAE Consulate as Executive Secretary had made numerous calls to the gunman of the attaché when Customs withheld the bag from June 30.

How Swapna and Sarith, who are not working with the Consulate were involved in clearing the diplomatic baggage is a big mystery.

According to the gunman’s wife’s statement, he was under tremendous tension when media released the phone call list of Swapna. He was missing since Thursday and was found on Friday unconscious, with cuts on his wrist. He is now admitted to the hospital and believed to be out of danger.

PGurus have already reported the role of certain UAE diplomats in gold smuggling. In March 2013, Delhi UAE Embassy’s senior diplomat was caught for 37 kg gold smuggling along with a trader Kamal Jain[1]. It is well known that in order to make easy money certain greedy diplomats engage with gold smugglers by misusing their diplomatic protection and misuse of diplomatic baggage for gold smuggling.

Now the accused people in custody – Swapna, Sarith and cargo clearing agent Sandeep Nair – have confessed to the agencies that in the past one year they have smuggled gold 12 times using similar methods. How Swapna and Sarith, who are not working with the Consulate were involved in clearing the diplomatic baggage is a big mystery. This shows the role of certain UAE diplomats in smuggling gold into India. The agencies are waiting for the discharge of the gunman of the Attaché from the hospital to question him.

References:

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