An MLA was also involved
in the gold smuggling racket that was busted in Kerala on July 5, the Customs
Department has said in a secret report.
The name of the MLA is
mentioned in the report the Customs has submitted to the Union Finance Ministry
along with an application to invoke ‘COFEPOSA’ (Conservation of Foreign
Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act) against the main accused, Swapna Suresh and Sandeep Nair.
The MLA has not been
named as an accused or witness in the case.
The MLA's connections
with the accused is mentioned on page 5 of the confidential report with the
file number ‘PD12002–06–2020 COFEPOSA’. It says K.T. Ramees
is the mastermind of the gold smuggling operations.
The report says the MLA
was a key link in the smuggling ring and supports the claim with the statements
of witnesses. The role of the MLA is also mentioned in the details of the
communication between the accused as part of the gold smuggling. But at no
point during the gold smuggling operations did Swapna
and the MLA interact directly. They communicated through Ramees,
who is yet to reveal the role of the MLA.
Investigating officials
say that Ramees destroyed one of his mobile phones a
day after (on July 2) information came out that a diplomatic parcel containing
gold had been detained by the Customs department at the Thiruvananthapuram
Airport.
Ramees got calls on this phone
from Anoop Mohammad, an accused in the Bengaluru
drugs case. This SIM card is registered in the name of a Tamil Nadu native.
Investigators yet to
figure out 'high-profile Malayalee’ mentioned by Swapna
Investigators have not
yet been able to find out about the 'high-profile Malayalee' that Swapna mentions in her statement, which has been attached
to the Customs report submitted to the Centre.
According to Swapna, the high-ranking official intervened to get the
diplomatic parcel containing 30 kilogrammes of
smuggled gold that was seized by Customs officials, released.
Swapna had told the co-accused
that it was UAE Consulate attaché Rashid Khamis who
had informed her about the involvement of the high-ranking official. This
indicates that the person who was involved is an expatriate, said Customs
officials.