Gold smuggling case: UAE attache's personal security officer reported missing

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Throwing more mystery in the gold smuggling case, personal security officer of UAE attaché Rashid Khamis Al Sheimeili has been reported missing since Thursday.
Rashid Khamis Al Sheimeili, in whose name the consignment containing the gold was addressed, had left for UAE on Sunday. His PSO Jayaghosh, who is a civil police officer attached to the armed reserve camp, Thiruvananthapuram, was reported missing from his house since Thursday evening. His family has filed a complaint at Thumpa police station in the capital, and the police have registered a man-missing case. The police have also launched a probe.
Jayaghosh has been attached to Rashid Khamis Al Sheimeili as his personal security officer for over a year now, sources said. Intelligence sources said that it was reported that Jayaghosh has been visibly upset for the last few days and it could be worth probing if he knew anything about smuggling gold under the cover of diplomatic baggage. He is also learnt to have returned his service pistol back to the authorities.
The consignment was addressed to the attaché from another main accused Faisal Fareed who is still at large, and it was also found that on the day when gold was intercepted by the customs, he had contacted one of the key accused in the case Swapna Suresh. Also, the call records of Swapna had revealed that she had been actively in touch with the attaché. As per the call records, she had contacted the attaché many times till July 5. It is also learnt that she had contacted Jayaghosh on his phone on the day when the gold was seized by the customs.
Swapna Suresh, in her bail petition, had claimed that she contacted the customs officials at the cargo complex of Thiruvananthapuram airport on the instructions of the attaché, as part of her official duties as she was the part-time secretary of the consular general. The customs and National Investigation Agency sleuths had also questioned some of the contract employees of the UAE consulate in connection with the probe.