6.15 kg gold seized from 13 Sri Lankans, 1 Indian; biggest bust at TVM Airport this year

Thiruvananthapuram: A group claiming to be traders, comprising 13 Sri Lankans and an Indian, was arrested for smuggling 6.15 kilograms of gold at the Thiruvananthapuram International Airport on Wednesday.

The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) that led the operation with the Air Customs said the haul estimated at Rs. 3.25 crore is the biggest gold seizure at Thiruvananthapuram this year.

Ten of the Lankans were women, who had hidden the gold, in a compound form, inside their inner wears, shoes and jackets. The Indian arrested with the Lankans is Tamil Nadu native Mohammed Faizal, 26. The DRI said only the Indian had concealed the gold inside his rectum.

The accused persons were nabbed shortly upon arrival on a Sri Lankan Airlines flight in the morning. The DRI had specific intelligence about the group and had mobilised a strong team to foil any attempt to hide or dispose of the gold.

A DRI source said they had noticed an unusual inflow of Sri Lankans to Thiruvananthapuram in recent months.

According to the DRI, most of the accused were traders, who did business with textile manufacturing units in Tirpur. Meanwhile, the authorities said only further investigation will confirm whether all 14 were part of a gang.

The Thiruvananthapuram Airport was the epicentre of an infamous gold smuggling case from July 2020 that rocked the LDF government. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's former principal secretary, M Sivasankar, was allegedly involved with the smuggling racket that misused the diplomatic corridor. Sivasankar was later removed from his post and served a jail term. The main accused in the case was Swapna Suresh.