‘Several’ intelligence officials suspended for aiding gold smuggling at Chennai airport | Chennai News

CHENNAI: The government has uncovered further involvement of the gold smuggling ring at Chennai airport and suspended an unspecified number of immigration officials for their alleged links with the smugglers.

A senior intelligence official said three of the officers had been suspended. However, airport sources said TOI that many more officials have been taken action against. “The number is understated to avoid scrutiny of the immigration department by other agencies such as the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) and Customs,” said an official.

The suspended employees are accused of collecting gold from porters arriving at the airport and secretly taking it outside to recipients in return for a commission from the smugglers. They are also accused of letting passengers through without thoroughly checking passports and other documents.

An IB official, who wished to remain anonymous, said the three officials’ links with gold smugglers are being investigated. One of them is Saravanan, who was on deputation with the IB. The official declined to name the other two. “The allegations against them will be investigated as mentioned in the memo,” he said.

The official said the suspension proceedings were initiated only because of internal procedural errors. “We have received information that they are admitting passengers without checking documents under the ‘Emigration Check Not Required’ (ECNR) category. How long they have been doing this and what their money route is is being investigated. If their involvement in gold smuggling had been proven, they would have been arrested by now,” he said.

The official said the suspension orders were issued before Customs busted a cartel that smuggled 267 kg of gold worth around Rs 167 million in about two months using a souvenir shop in the international terminal as a cover.

Officials said they have identified similar violations in the past and suspended employees who made mistakes. At least 45 immigration officers, including many state police officers assigned to the IB, are deployed at the airport to process international passengers.