Smuggling through Diplomatic baggage of United Arab Emirates (UAE) Consulate in Kerala is going to sex and sleazy tales that lead to a senior Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer. Customs is in search of the former Executive Secretary Swapna Suresh and took custody of Sarith, former Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Consulate.
Swapna Suresh is now working in Kerala Government’s Information Technology (IT) park as Operations Manager and is very close with the IT Secretary M Sivasankar IAS, who is also a Secretary to the Chief Minister. The IT Department has terminated her from service today. She went into hiding after former colleague Sarith was picked up by Customs.
Swapna had earlier worked in Air India too and filed fake sexual abuse cases against a senior officer and was facing a police case for floating fake cases. Now Kerala’s Opposition parties are asking how she was recruited by the IT Department with such a dubious background. Due to her proximity with Sivasankar, she was a regular fixture in Kerala Chief Minister’s office also, accuse Opposition leaders. Her Facebook posts show her proximity to the IAS officer and Kerala’s TV channels aired the guard’s interview (guard of the flat where Swapna lives) that Sivasankar is a daily visitor in the evenings. Sivasankar IAS is considered as the blue-eyed boy of Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. Controversies erupted after Sivasankar tried to influence Customs Officers to hush up the case.
Due to her stay at Abu Dhabi when she was young and fluent in Arabic, Swapna Suresh became the Executive Secretary of Consul General Jamal Husein Alzaabi of the UAE Consulate in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. She with her former colleague Sarith was handling the Diplomatic baggage of the Consulate for a long time. On June 30, Air Customs found 30 kg of Gold in Diplomatic baggage from Dubai. The smuggled gold was concealed in steel packs being claimed as food items. The market value of this is currently Rs.15 crores and it is believed that certain jewelry shop owners who are also having branches in the Middle East are behind this smuggling operation through diplomatic baggage.
Meanwhile, the UAE Ambassador in Delhi said that certain former local staffers are behind this smuggling[1]. Former PRO Sarith used to deal with the cargo and when he was picked by Customs in on July 3, Swapna went into hiding.
Late-night development… Sarith was produced before a Magistrate and remanded for 14 days. Currently, he is placed in a COVID detention center. Customs also conducted a raid at fugitive Swapna’s home.
References:
[1] Ex-employee of UAE consulate in Kerala behind gold smuggling – Jul 6, 2020, GulfNews.com
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There’s clear involvement on the part of the Part top leadership as also certain top bureaucrats. The CM and his daughter are also indirectly involved. What needs to come out is whether the hold went to the jewellery shops or to fund ant-national activities. The Government must have covered its tracks by now. Everything points to the CM and his office. Kerala model is get better ny the day!
Whoever Indians involvled in this have brought disgrace to Hindus. Beyond doubt this modus operandus has blessings at highest offices in Kerala. The jewellers – Joyallukas, Kalyan, Malabar… must have been involved
Yes I agree with Mr Vijay above. This is not a “One-off” case. This must have been going on for a long time using Diplomatic channel advantages. Thorough investigation is required.
Whenever mallus talked about ‘Kerala model’, i assumed they were talking about their Economic system. Who knew it was a person bringing in gold 🙂
Entire Kerala politicians are involved in this gold smuggling. Time to have all entry points for foreigners entering India should be in centre’s hand only.
Install more CCTV cameras & scan everyone i.e. every employee background, checks & rechecks…etc..
As I have long maintained, the Nehruvian Construct of “Ceasar’s wife” which excuses those in Government employ from all accountability, exemplified by the so called “Judiciary” and down to the recent Modi “Anti Corruption” Law which criminalizes the victims of extortion (the so called “bribe Giver”) rather than the extortionist who abuses State Power for personal pelf, pleasure, and perversions has created a Government sans Governance which sells India and Indians to anybody who is inclined and willing to pay,
Surely this tip if iceberg, accidentally one consignment of many caught. Intense and custodial interrogations required and truth of this must come out.
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Not only jewelry merchants some other political higher ups may have been involved in this gold smuggling