Customs officer sentenced to 11 years for gold smuggling through TVM airport
The accused were sentenced on the basis of scientific evidence, CCTV visuals and the statement of the approver.
The accused were sentenced on the basis of scientific evidence, CCTV visuals and the statement of the approver.
The accused were sentenced on the basis of scientific evidence, CCTV visuals and the statement of the approver.
Former Customs head Havildar G Ranimol was sentenced to 11 years rigorous imprisonment on Friday by the Special CBI Court for her role in the smuggling of gold through the Thiruvananthapuram International Airport. The person for whom she worked as an accomplice, Sabeer Abdul Kareem, was sentenced to seven years in prison.
While the former customs official was slapped a fine of ₹1.4 lakh, Kareem has to pay ₹90,000 as a penalty. The crime took place on March 10, 2018. That day, Sabeer arrived on the Emirates Dubai flight with one kg of gold.
According to the CBI FIR, Sabeer booked tickets through Ozone Travels in Manacaud and left for Dubai on March 9 to collect the gold biscuits held in a wallet. The next day, he arrived at Thiruvananthapuram airport with the wallet.
The FIR says that Ranimol, who was then head havildar, Air Customs, Thiruvananthapuram Airport, was deployed at the Customs exit gate since 7 am on the day. She left her duty position and came to the baggage screening area to help Sabeer smuggle the gold out of the airport.
Before his bag was sent through the X-ray baggage screener, Sabeer transferred the gold biscuits to Ranimol. Being the head havildar, Ranimol carried the wallet containing the gold biscuits through the Customs clearance area and handed it back to Sabeer.
Their plan was foiled when customs superintendent T S Sanjeev saw Rani Mol handing the smuggled gold back to Sabeer. Sanjeev then came under pressure from customs officials to spare Havildar Ranimol, as she was one among them. The case was then tweaked to look like the gold was confiscated directly from Sabeer.
However, the CBI was tipped off about the incident, and in the CBI investigation that followed, the truth came to light. Initially, there was a plan to arraign customs superintendent Sanjeev, who extricated Rani Mol, as an accused, but later he was turned into an approver in the case.
The accused were sentenced on the basis of scientific evidence, CCTV visuals and the statement of the approver.