Kerala gold smuggling case: NIA suspects link of some accused to Dawood's crime syndicate

In a sensational claim, the NIA on Wednesday alleged that some of the Kerala gold smuggling case accused might have links to Dawood Ibrahim’s D-company. During the bail plea hearing in Kochi’s NIA court, prosecutor Arjun Ambalapatta submitted that accused KT Rameez and Sharafuddeen had smuggled gold from Tanzania to the UAE and from there to India. He alleged that Rameez has links with Feroze Oasis, who allegedly handles the D-Company's affairs in Tanzania.  

As per sources, Oasis is believed to be a key member of the criminal syndicate and is fluent in Tamil, Arabic, English and Hindi. Advancing further arguments, the NIA's lawyer stated that the agency was yet to receive all the digital evidence collected by the Customs department and required more time to investigate the leads. On the other hand, the advocates for the accused contended that the NIA counsel was making vague statements to ensure the denial of bail. The matter was adjourned till October 15.

Read: Kerala Gold Smuggling: NIA Reveals That Accused With 'terror Links' Is PFI's Mohammed Ali

Read: Kerala Gold Smuggling: Court Asks NIA To Substantiate Evidence, Hints At Granting Bail

The Kerala gold smuggling case

On July 5, Customs officials seized 30 kg of gold worth Rs.15 crore at the Thiruvananthapuram Airport from a diplomatic cargo addressed to a person in the UAE Consulate. Sarith Kumar, who worked at the UAE Consulate was arrested in this regard. Reportedly, he told the Customs about the role of Swapna Suresh, an ex-Consulate employee working as the operations manager of the Kerala State Information Technology Infrastructure Limited.

The case took a political turn after photos with Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan surfaced. It has been alleged that Suresh has links with the CM and has been seen with him at parties when she was working at the UAE Consulate. Following the backlash over her appointment, she was sacked by the state government. On July 16, Vijayan announced that the suspension of his former Principal Secretary M Sivasankar pending the departmental inquiry. It was reportedly found that he had violated the All-India Services Conduct rules due to his connections with the gold smuggling accused. 

After the NIA took over the case, it registered an FIR against Sarith Kumar, Swapna Suresh, Fazil Fareed, Sandeep Nair, and others. Various sections of the UAPA were slapped against the aforesaid individuals. The NIA has alleged that the smuggled gold was not used for jewellery purposes but for funding terror activities. In a major breakthrough earlier, Nair agreed to become an approver in the case. 

Read: Kerala Gold Smuggling Case: CM's Former Aide Applies For Anticipatory Bail Amid ED Notice