Kerala gold smuggling case: Three accused sent in NIA custody

KOCHI: A special court for considering cases of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Wednesday granted custody of accused Sarith PS, Ramees KT and Jalal AM to the investigation team probing the terror angle behind the Thiruvananthapuram gold smuggling case.
Though the NIA had sought five-day custody, the accused were granted in the custody of the agency till Friday.
NIA prosecutor Arjun Ambalapatta submitted before the court on Wednesday that the accused were sought in custody so as to confront them with the confession statement given by Sandeep Nair, the fourth accused, under Section 164 CrPC.
He also submitted that the accused need to be confronted with fresh data retrieved from some other accused in the case. The assistant solicitor general would appear for the NIA at special court on Wednesday afternoon to oppose the bail plea of two other accused in the case.
Meanwhile, the additional chief judicial magistrate court Ernakulam (Economic Offences) granted permission for customs to record the arrest of Sarith PS and Swapna Suresh in a case registered by the agency relating to illegal export of currency out of the country.
The new case against them is for allegedly assisting a former employee of the Thiruvananthapuram UAE consulate to illegally smuggle out currency through the Thiruvananthapuram airport.
The NIA, enforcement directorate and customs preventive are probing cases related to the Thiruvananthapuram gold smuggling. The original case pertains to illegal smuggling of gold through the diplomatic channel at the Thiruvananthapuram airport.