Kerala gold smuggling case: 3 accused sent to NIA custody for questioning

NIA, the agency investigating the Kerala gold smuggling case, had applied for the remand of these three accused on Tuesday

Thiruvananthapuram: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) Special Court has sent three accused – Sarith PS, Ramees KT and Jalal AM to NIA custody for three days.

NIA, the agency investigating the Kerala gold smuggling case, had applied for the remand of these three accused on Tuesday. The agency had filed a petition at NIA court in Kochi seeking the custody of Sarith PS, Ramees KT and Jalal AM for five days.

The move was taken after the team collected information from Sandeep Nair about the roles played by the three accused in the case. NIA wants to interrogate Sarith, Ramees and Jalal based on the details provided by Nair in his confession statement. Meanwhile, the court heard the bail petitions filed by Hamsath Abdusalam and Samju TM, another accused in the case.

They had claimed that their roles were minor compared to other accused persons as they procured gold only for monetary gain.

Earlier, the special court of NIA on Monday dismissed the bail plea of Swapna Suresh, the main accused in the gold smuggling case. The court rejected Swapna Suresh's bail plea, looking into the evidence presented by the NIA.

On oct 14, NIA informed a Kochi court that the two accused in the Kerala gold smuggling case – KT Ramees and M Sharafuddin – have links with underworld fugitive don Dawood Ibrahim.

NIA has claimed that Ramees and Sharafuddin had also visited Tanzania in east Africa several times to meet a contact of Ibrahim known as Feroze Oasis and had discussed ways to smuggle firearms to India.

The Kerala gold smuggling scam came to light after the Customs department seized 30 kg gold from an air cargo consignment from the UAE to the country’s consulate in Thiruvananthapuram on July 5.