Kozhikode International Airport | Photo: Mathrubhumi
Kochi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has named 42 individuals, including 12 customs officials, in a gold smuggling case.
The accused officials are customs superintendent KM Jose, E Ganapathy Potty, Satyamendra Singh, S Asha, inspectors Yasar Arafath, Nareesh, Sudheer Kumar, VC Minimol, Sanjeev Kumar, Yogesh, head havildars C Ashokan, PM Francis and airport sub-staff K Mani.
The chargesheet was filed by CBI inspector NR Suresh Kumar with the Ernakulam CBI Court-3 on Monday.
17 Kasaragod natives are also named in the chargesheet for smuggling gold through Karipur airport.
The incident came to light following a surprise raid conducted by a combined operation of the CBI Kochi unit and the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence in January 2021. It was found that smugglers received the help of customs officials to bypass checking at the airport. Further, the officials also seized Rs 70 lakh of various currencies and other foreign-made goods from the smugglers.
The chargesheet also mentions recovery of Rs 2.86 lakh and smuggled goods worth Rs 6.28 lakh from the accused customs officials.