Kannur airpor gold smuggling case:Three customs officers dismissed from service

Three customs officers were dismissed from service for their involvement in gold smuggling through the Kannur International Airport in 2019,customs sources said on Friday.

Customs Preventive Commissioner Sumit Kumar issued the dismissal order of the officers-- Rohit Kumar Sharma, Krishan Kumar and Sakendra Paswan-- for their involvement in smuggling 11 kg of gold worth over Rs 4.5 crore through the airport, the sources said.

The officers were placed under suspension and a charge-sheet was issued on May 5 last year by the Customs PreventiveCommissioner.

The officers were arrested on August 29 by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence for their involvement in the smuggling case.

The arrest was a day after the arrest of Rahul Pandit, Inspector of Central Excise, who is suspected to be the kingpin coordinator for ''facilitating smuggling'' through airports including Kannur and Kozhikode.

Pandit was dismissed from service by the Customs Preventive Commissioner and also detained under COFEPOSA.

The Customs department has charged them with abetment of smuggling gold for a syndicate.PTI RRT BN BALA BN BALA