KOCHI
: A Customs head
havildar
— who was arrested by directorate of revenue intelligence (DRI) for facilitating
gold smuggling
— and a
carrier
(whom he assisted) were remanded in
judicial custody
for 14 days by additional chief judicial magistrate court (economic offences), Ernakulam.
Sunil Francis, who was caught redhanded after he collected three gold bars weighing 1kg each from the carrier in the lavatory of Cochin International Airport (Cial) and Adhinan Khalid, a resident of Muvattupuzha who handed over the gold bars on his arrival from Dubai were remanded by the court.
The officer was placed under suspension by the customs department and proceedings were initiated against him for conduct violations. DRI sources said that they would seek his custody for further investigation. A search at his home to find evidence to connect him to smuggling rackets didn’t prove fruitful, said sources.
Meanwhile, customs department is probing how an officer who was not on duty entered the customs area and whether other officers are committing similar offences.
The accused had an idea about the identity of the carriers as they arrive at the international terminal, but the carriers never knew his identity even after they handed over their gold to him.
The exchange used to happen at the washroom of the international terminal, next to the baggage belt. The carrier would enter a toilet cubicle with partitions and the havildar, who knew the carrier’s identity would follow him and enter the adjacent cubicle. Sleuths suspect that they used to communicate in codes before the exchange.
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