37-year-old TK Fayaz, who was arrested for smuggling gold, had links with leading politicians, celebrities, police and customs officials of Kerala. He lived like a king. His acquaintances consisted of celebrities, politicians, police officers, customs and Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) officials in Kerala. 37-year-old TK Fayaz from Pallur village, Kannur district, Kerala was considered a role model for the youth of the state. But on 21 September, everything changed – Fayaz was arrested in a gold smuggling case in New Delhi.
According to customs officials, Mustafa, an NRI businessman based in Dubai, and Fayaz had smuggled 42 kg of gold worth Rs 12 crore during the last two months through the Kochi airport using women carriers.
Customs officials had issued a lookout notice against Fayaz after two women and a man were detained at the Kochi International Airport on 19 Septmeber while attempting to smuggle 20 kg of gold. On being caught, the man threatened the customs officials with dire consequences and showed his call list. It is rumoured that according to his call list, he had talked to the Kerala CM’s Additional Private Secretary, RK Balakrishnan and a former Miss South India just before his arrest.
After his arrest, Fayaz confessed that several customs and police officials had facilitated his smuggling activities. The CBI has registered cases against S Madhavan, Deputy Commissioner of Customs, Kochi, Sunil Kumar, Preventive Officer and Soni, an inspector, for aiding smuggling. It is also probing a disproportionate asset cases against them.
Villagers in Pallur considered Fayaz a wonder boy. He was born in a poor family and his father was a driver in a private bus who barely managed to feed his seven children. “I know him as a poor boy who was never good at his studies. His father struggled to feed them,” said a family friend who wished to remain anonymous.
He dropped out from the Pallur Government School when he was in Class 9 and worked as a waiter in local hotel for a year in the mid-nineties. Later he worked as an assistant in Gadhafi Bakery in Vadakara, a neighbouring town. The owner of the bakery was impressed by Fayaz and partnered with him to run a hotel. They also started supplying food to other bakeries in the town. However, their partnership didn’t last long. Fayaz then started a car rental business and also became a salesman of second-hand cars.
Later he was jailed for three months in car theft case as he had purchased a stolen vehicle and used it for his rental business. During this time, he made connections with resort owners in Wayanad and tried to run resorts on lease. He also made contacts with local police officers: he provided vehicles for their pleasure trip and hosted them in resorts in Wayanad. Later he shifted his businesses to Thalassery and Vadakara, where he married a businessman’s daughter.
After that, nobody knew of his whereabouts until he returned to his village in 2008 in a BMW. He was one of the first people in Kannur to own an imported vehicle. His classmate from school says, “His return to the village surprised everybody. With expensive glasses, a gold chain and a wrist watch, he looked rich. We were told that he was running a hotel in Dubai which was frequented by famous film stars and politicians. He spent lavishly on parties and donated money to political parties. We never doubted that he was involved in smuggling.”
After his return, Fayaz befriended many VIPs in Kerala. He reportedly changed his car on every visit to his village – he had a fleet of luxury vehicles, including a BMW, a Hummer and an Audi. He also got a bungalow constructed near Arabic College in Paral, Kannur and another worth Rs 14 crore is under construction near his wife’s house.
According to media reports, Fayaz knew Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, his personal aides and family members and shared the platform with Chief Minister Oommen Chandy at an inauguration ceremony. E Ahmed, Union Minister of State for External Affairs, attended the wedding reception of Fayaz’s close relative and was photographed with him during the function. The minister, however, has denied any links with him. It is said that Fayaz is in regular contact with two Indian Union Muslim League ministers, PK Kunjalikutty and MK Muneer.
He was invited to the wedding reception of the children of two prominent CPI(M) leaders from Kannur and has attended high profile events with film star Manoj K Jayan. He also sponsored a show for Jaihind TV, which is run by the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee in Dubai.
It is reported that he gave an imported 62-inch LED television to an IRS officer in Kochi airport as a wedding gift. This ‘gift’ was never scanned, nor was any duty paid. He attended the officer’s wedding along with Dileep, a Malayalam film star. Fayaz had a passion for films.
He acted in the Malayalam movie “Sringaravelan” starring Dileep. His BMW was used for the shooting of the film. He missed no opportunity to meet film stars: In 2012, when AMMA, a film artists’ organisation, was staging a show in Kozhikode, Fayaz arrived with a few friends in his BMW at the rehearsal hall. He spent the evening with the artists and gifted a case of expensive whisky to them.
According to a film director, many actors and actresses were impressed by his generosity and posed for photographs with him. Now the Customs Intelligence Wing suspects that he used film stars for gold smuggling by arranging free trips to Dubai for them.
“He was adept at smuggling: his guests were given the green channel facility and a customs official used to escort them to the exit gate so that their luggage would not be scanned or checked,” said a customs official in Kochi airport.
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