Officials seize 30kg gold from Uae-bound cargo package in Kerala

nTHIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The customs and preventive department on Sunday seized at least 30 kg gold from an air cargo consignment bound for the United Arab Emirates consulate in Thiruvananthapuram.

According to customs officials it is the biggest seizure in recent past and that too from the diplomatic baggage meant for the employees of the consulate general’s office.

The raid was carried out after getting the nod from the ministry of external affairs, since most consignments to diplomatic missions enjoy immunity under the Vienna Convention. “We had intelligence about this. Search is going on and quantity may go up. We have detained one person and are on the lookout for two more,” said Sumit Kumar, Customs Commissioner in-charge of Kerala and Lakshadweep .

The consignment came through a chartered flight. Customs suspect that the smuggling syndicate was using some of the lower level employee to make use of immunity to smuggle gold.

Usually such consignments pass without any check.

“We had to make it very clear that consignment was booked in the name of some lower-level officials not in the name of the consular general of the friendly country. Our preliminary investigation shows the smuggling syndicate was using some of them,” he said.

The gold was hidden inside some of the household equipment to avoid detection and it will be worth several crores of rupees.

The commissioner said exact details will be emerged after checking few more baggages and that the quantity will go up.

Officials said often smuggling syndicates think that frisking norms will be less during the Covid-19 pandemic, but they were mistaken.