Karipur: In a classic case of criminal nexus, Customs officials at Karipur airport were nabbed with possession of smuggled gold and money by CBI sleuths pre-dawn Wednesday. The cache comprised unaccounted money to the tune of 3 lakh rupees and 629 grams in gold. A special team from CBI’s Kochi unit carried out the flash raid. Five customs officials are currently in custody as interrogations continue.
The CBI team arrived the airport with focus on Air Arabia’s Sharjah-Karipur flight that landed 2.45 am Tuesday morning. Checking that began 3 am morning had ended by noon. The CBI in their raid then descended on the scene, calling back passengers who had cleared out of the checking hall. Five officials have been incriminated so far including C Jose, Asha and Badruddin. Of the group, two are high-ranking officials.
Early on, CBI was tipped off on the nexus between gold smugglers and customs officials at Karipur International Airport. The modus operandi was to let off smugglers on a lesser gold duty on contraband they brought. People who have resided overseas for less than 6 months must pay 36 percent in duty on gold. Instead, some officials would clear out such individuals on lesser levy in exchange for bribe money. CBI summoned DRA officials to the rairport to conduct their raid.
