The curious case of Faisal Fareed – the 3rd accused in Kerala gold smuggling case

Dubai: As India's National Investigation Agency gets cracking on the gold smuggling case, a hunt is on to nab the third accused named Faisal Fareed. However, his identity has confounded the authorities even as social media is abuzz with conjectures about the man and his interests.

The NIA had named a certain Faisal Fareed in the smuggling case. This person is suspected to have sent 30kg gold to Thiruvananthapuram through a diplomatic bag.

However, a Dubai-based Faisal Fareed claimed that he has no hand in the gold smuggling bid that was found out by the Customs at the Trivandrum International Airport. This Keralite hails from Moonupeedika in Thrissur and social media rumours are on this line.

Strangely, the consignor address and phone number mentioned on the gold consignment caught at the Kerala airport are those of his Dubai residence.

The consignment mentions the sender’s address as villa no 5 in Al Rashidiya, a Dubai locality. Faisal lives with his family in Al Rashidiya.

"I have not done any business related to gold so far. I do not know the accused Sarith, Swapna or Sandeep. Nor have I done any deals. Nobody has contacted me in connection with the case," Fareed, the businessman who professes innocence, told reporters in Dubai.

P S Sarith Kumar, Swapna Suresh and Sandeep Nair are the three key members of the racket already arrested over the case. They are the accused no: 1, 2 and 4 respectively in the case being probed by the NIA.

The Customs had revealed that it had spoken to Faisal and recorded his statement by calling the phone of one of his friends.

Faisal said that while Customs officials had called one of his friends, he had not spoken to anyone. He also said that neither the Dubai Police nor the NIA had questioned him as part of the investigation.

"Some people called me, claiming to be probe officers. But they did not even have the confidence to tell their names," Faisal added.

He threatened to take legal action against using his social media images to portray the accused.

He did not respond to media queries on Monday.

A racing enthusiast

Faisal, known as Faizi in Dubai, is a young businessman and a racing enthusiast and he is known to be close to film personalities and UAE nationals.

He has been in Dubai since childhood as his father, Fareed, worked in the city. His father died of COVID-19 two months ago.

A gymnasium called ‘Go Gym’ at Al Qusais in Dubai and a workshop for luxury vehicles called ‘Five C Motorsports’ are among the businesses he owns. The workshop is now closed.

The gym was inaugurated by Bollywood star Arjun Kapoor in November 2019. According to Bollywood sources, the cost of bringing in the actor was over Rs 1 crore.

The gym, run in partnership, has some big names as members. Some Malayalam movie stars have also visited it.

A young Malayalam actor who visited Dubai recently travelled in Faisal's luxury car.

Another Keralite is in charge of the gym’s management and some trainers are also Malayalees.

Faisal, a reserved person, visits the gym only occasionally, said employees.

Sharjah shop link?

Faisal’s name cropped up in the case in connection with the Sharjah-based Al-Sattar Spices that was mentioned in the remand report of the first-accused, Sarith. Fareed said that he had no links with this company.

The documents produced by the Customs in court mentioned that Faisal was an employee of this shop. However, its owner said he had no employee by that name.

According to the Customs officials, the baggage that they had seized had the invoice of this shop, which is owned by a Malayalee and sells dates and other grocery items.

The Indian Customs stationed at the Trivandrum International Airport had seized gold, worth Rs 13.5 crore, from a diplomatic baggage addressed to the UAE Consulate on July 5. NIA has taken up the case considering the likely links of the smugglers to terror financiers.

Norms on consular mails

Consignments to officials working at consulates cannot be sent anonymously or by using fake addresses, said those in diplomatic circles. Address and identity proofs are essential to books parcels to consulate employees, they said.

Such baggages are sent only after ascertaining the genuineness of the address and identity. It is mandatory for even cargo companies to ensure that the details are correct and genuine before they send such parcels, they said.

If there is any lapse in this, then it should be seen as a very serious matter and it should be investigated, they said.