13:05 November 23
Customs gets court nod to arrest Sivasankar in Kerala gold smuggling case
Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala): The Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Court (Economic Offences) on Monday granted permission to the Customs department to arrest former Kerala CMO principal secretary M Sivasankar in the gold smuggling case.
Sivasankar is currently in judicial custody till November 26 in the case registered by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
The ED, probing the money trail in the gold smuggling case, had earlier alleged that key accused Swapna Suresh in a statement claimed that Sivasankar and his team in the CMO were fully aware of the smuggling of the precious metal through diplomatic channel.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA), the ED and the Customs are conducting separate investigations into the racket that was busted with the seizure of gold worth Rs 15 crore from a diplomatic baggage of the UAE Consulate at Thiruvananthapuram airport on July 5.
The ED has alleged that Sivasankar had intervened to get the diplomatic baggage containing smuggled gold cleared without examination by the Customs. The IAS officer was suspended after his links to Suresh surfaced.
Read:Kerala police hand over Swapna audio clip to crime branch
