TIRUCHY:The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe has revealed that along with 34 kg of gold that went missing from the customs office recently in Tiruchy, foreign currency equivalent to around `17 lakh has also vanished in the thin air.
According to a complaint lodged by the customs officials, a packet containing seized gold kept in the strong room was tampered with and it did not have the requisite weight of 18.50 kg. However, when the packet was opened it weighed only 3.5 kg, including the packing material, sources from the CBI said.
The seized gold was found missing from the strongroom when they were to be produced before the court in connection with a case. The Anti-Corruption Branch of the CBI booked a case on the basis of a complaint lodged by the commissioner of Customs, Tiruchy.
Consequent to the missing of the seized gold, Customs authorities placed under suspension two officials - Mohammed Farooq, Superintendent and Senthil Kumar, Inspector of Customs.
Meanwhile the deafening silence over the gold missing case at the customs office in Tiruchy has raised serious concerns among the public. The media has been kept in the dark ever since the complaint was lodged with the contonment police, even though it was speculated that the case would be transferred to CBI.