NIA arraigns five more persons as accused in Kerala gold smuggling case

Five more persons accused in the high profile Kerala gold smuggling case, have been arraigned by the National Investigation Agency on Monday. The matter had come to light after 30 kg gold worth Rs 14.82 crore, smuggled in a diplomatic cargo, was busted by the Customs in Thiruvananthapuram on July 5.

Kochi: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arraigned five more persons as accused in the high profile Kerala gold smuggling case, officials said on Monday.

As the four of these arraigned accused in the case are currently in the UAE, the NIA will approach Interpol to trace them out.

According to officials, these accused have been identified as Mohammad Aslam (44), Abdul Latheef K (47), Nazirudheen Shah alias Nasru (32) and Ramzan Parancherry alias Sabu Pullara (36), all from Mallapura and Mohammed Mansoor PS alias Manju (35), a native of Kozhikode.

Except for Mohammad Aslam, all other accused persons are in the UAE and NIA has approached NIA court to issue a non-bailable arrest warrant against them. NIA is interrogating Aslam, officials said.

"The said accused persons are required to be secured for investigation in this case and Blue Notice to be issued through Interpol," the NIA stated at the special NIA court.

READ: Kerala minister Jaleel appears before Customs investigators

With the inclusion of five more persons, there are 35 accused in the case registered by NIA. The agency has so far as arrested 21 persons in this matter.

The case, which is currently being probed by the Enforcement Directorate, the NIA and the Customs Department, pertains to the smuggling of gold in the state through diplomatic channels.

The matter had come to light after 30 kg gold worth Rs 14.82 crore, smuggled in a diplomatic cargo, was busted by the Customs in Thiruvananthapuram on July 5.

ANI