KOCHI: Customs officials probing smuggling of gold through the diplomatic channel at Thiruvananthapuram airport suspect that the person who sent consignment to UAE Consulate is a seasoned gold smuggler. The person who sent the consignment is identified as Fazil Pareed hailing from Ernakulam district.
According to Customs officials, Fazil’s name is in the list of smugglers who operate from Dubai. “His name had emerged in several smuggling cases, including those probed by Customs and DRI. We have information that he has a logistics business in UAE and also runs a provision store in Sharjah. The suspects in the case, including Swapna and Sandeep, had met him regularly when they travelled to UAE,” an officer said.
According to sources, Fazil’s name had emerged in the case probed by DRI in which gold was smuggled through seaport in Mumbai and airport in Thiruvananthapuram last year. “We are coordinating with DRI to check whether the person identified as Fazil is the same person who is the suspect in this case. We are also collecting more information about him including his activities in UAE,” an officer said.
The agency will initiate the procedures for the extradition of Fazil once it gets more information. “UAE agencies have agreed to cooperate with our probe. We will coordinate with agencies concerned once the investigation into Fazil’s role in the case is established,” an officer said.