NIA to probe Kerala gold smuggling case

The Union Ministry of Home Affairs on July 9 ordered the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to investigate the Thiruvananthapuram Airport gold smuggling case. Justifying its decision to handover the case to the premier probe agency, the MHA said, “the organised smuggling operation may have serious implications for national security.”
The seizure of 30 kg gold from a ‘diplomatic baggage’ at Thiruvananthapuram international airport has snowballed into a major political controversy.
The home ministry’s order comes a day after Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene for an “effective investigation” into the Thiruvananthapuram airport gold smuggling case.
Mr. Vijayan had on July 7 removed his secretary M. Sivasankar, who also held the post of IT principal secretary, after the BJP and Congress targeted the official for the appointment of a woman Swapna Suresh, in the IT department. She is the prime suspect in the gold smuggling case.