Now, Customs slaps fine of Rs 65 lakh on Swapna, Sivasankar in dollar smuggling case

A day after slapping a hefty fine on Swapna Suresh and M Sivasankar for their involvement in the diplomatic gold smuggling case, the Cochin Customs Department has levied a penalty of Rs 65 lakh each on the duo in the dollar smuggling case.

The case revolves around the alleged smuggling of Rs1.3 crore by a former officer of the UAE consulate in Thiruvananthapuram to Muscut in Oman. Former finance head of the UAE Consulate Khaled Mohamed Ali Shoukry, Sarith, Swapna Suresh, Sandeep, Unitac MD Santosh Eapen, and former Principal Secretary of Kerala Chief Minister Sivasankar are the six accused named in the 40-page charge sheet filed by Customs in court.

Kochi Customs Preventive Commissioner Rajendra Kumar has ordered Eapen to pay Rs 1 crore and Khaled Mohamed Ali Shoukry to pay Rs 1.3 crore as fine in the dollar smuggling case. The two other accused in the case Sarith and Sandeep have also been slapped with a fine of Rs 65 lakh.

Fine in gold smuggling case
While Swapna Suresh, the prime accused, was asked to cough up Rs 6 crore in the diplomatic baggage gold smuggling case, M Sivasankar was asked to pay a fine of Rs 50 lakh. A total of Rs 66.60 crore fine has been imposed on 44 accused, including two former diplomats of the UAE Consulate in Thiruvananthapuram.

The order is part of the Customs procedure in the case of the seizure of 30.245 kg of smuggled gold worth Rs 14.82 crore from the Thiruvananthapuram cargo complex on July 5, 2020.

In addition to the seized 30 kg of gold, the circumstantial evidence shows that the diplomatic baggage smuggling gang smuggled 136.828 kg of gold worth Rs 46.50 crore between November 2019 and March 2020, the order stated.

The accused can approach the Customs Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal against the order of the Preventive Commissioner. The prosecution complaint under the Customs Act in the case is under the consideration of the Economic Offences Court in Kochi.