Thiruvananthapuram: Rashid Al-Salami, an attache with the UAE Consulate in Thiruvananthapuram, reportedly left India as a multi-agency probe into smuggling of gold through diplomatic baggage by a Kerala-based racket intensified. The 30 kg gold, worth Rs 14.8 crore, seized by the Indian Customs at the airport here was reportedly addressed to this consular official.
The attache of the UAE Consulate General left for Dubai via New Delhi three days ago, according to Manorama News. He was also standing in as the Consulate General.
The Customs seizure was recorded on July 5, though the agency had held back the diplomatic bag that had arrived from Dubai on June 30 on suspicion of smuggling.
Swapna Suresh, then consultant at the Space Park project under the Kerala State Information Technology Infrastructure Limited, had reportedly called up the Assistant Commissioner of Customs claiming to be the secretary of the Consul General of the UAE Consulate in Thiruvananthapuram, and demanded the baggage be released.
The Customs then directed the consulate official to whom the baggage was addressed to come personally to collect it. When Customs refused to release it, former PRO of the consulate P S Sarith Kumar landed up at the air cargo office with a man in Arabian costumes and allegedly threatened the officials there.
Sarith was arrested after the cargo was opened on July 5 and the smuggled gold was found upon inspection.
As the case hit headlines, Swapna was sacked from the Space Park job and she fled the state along with Sandeep Nair, who is suspected to be the keyman of the racket. The duo were later arrested from Bengaluru.
During the probe, it was revealed that 16 phone calls were made between Al-Salami and Swapna on July 3. Fourteen of these calls were made by the attache himself to Swapna, a former employee of the Consulate.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA), which has been entrusted with the probe into the case, has booked four -- Sarith, Swapna, Sandeep and USE-based Fasil Fareed -- under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
It is suspected Fasil had sent the gold from Dubai.
The case stirred up a political controversy after it was found out that M Sivasankar, a top bureaucrat, had close association with Swapna. Subsequently, he was removed from the posts of IT secretary and principal secretary to the Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.