The Kerala government has not given consent to the Central Bureau of Investigation to investigate the Karipur gold smuggling case in which a Customs official was involved. It has been a month and a half since CBI sought permission from the state government in the case. This was the first case registered after the government withdrew public sanction for the CBI following the sensational gold smuggling case.
On January 12, the CBI and Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) had conducted an inspection at the Karipur airport following confidential information. The raid was based on reports that large-scale smugglings are taking place with the help of customs officials at Karipur airport. The Customs even seized Rs 3.5 lakh and Rs 1.5 crore worth gold from a passenger who reached the airport from Sharjah. Following investigation revealed that a smuggling mafia was there along with top officials reportedly, including the Superintendent of Customs.
The CBI is unable to register a case on its own since the State government withdrew its public sanction to the CBI following a dispute over the gold smuggling case. On January 20, the probe agency even wrote a letter to Home Secretary seeking permission for the investigation. However, there was no response. Later, the CBI Superintendent raised the issue to TK Jose, Additional Chief Secretary, Home Department. He even stressed that the evidence is likely to be destroyed if the investigation gets delayed and demanded immediate permission.
