Olga Case Not Closed - CBI
REPORTS have been published in a section of the Media indicating that CBI is likely to close a case against five senior officers of the Indian Customs and Central Excise, who were charge-sheeted for alleged clandestine silk imports in collusion with Senior Customs & Central Excise officials.
CBI clarifies that there is no move by CBI to close the case. In fact, the matter is pending before the High Court of Delhi.
In case you don't remember Olga, here is a brief background.
Olga Kazireva, a beautiful young girl from Uzbekistan was arrested by the Customs officers on 28.8.2000 at Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi while smuggling 27 bags of Chines silk worth 1.56 crores. It was a Custom made case - involving dollars, Chinese silk, sexy (phoren) women and Customs Officers. It was all smooth (silky) operation with women passengers landing in Delhi airport with yards and yards of fine Chinese silk in their baggage, seduce their way through Customs and disappear into the crowded bylanes of Paharganj near New Delhi Railway Station. In ten months, Olga made 68 silky trips to India. She was said to have connections with many Customs officers including the top boss. 48 Customs officers were suspended. CBI charge sheeted 27 Customs officers (including five Group A officers) in 2006. Some newspapers have recently reported that the Revenue Secretary has written to the CBI Director to apply to the trial court judge for closure of the case against five senior officers of Indian Customs and Central Excise.
Though compared to present standards, Olga was smuggling peanuts, what was disturbing was that a young lady could smuggle in goods weighing more than 2200 kgs at a time and there were apprehensions that after all, what she was smuggling might not have been just silk, for silk smuggling can't be that lucrative. Was she smuggling drugs and arms too?