Kochi: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) team, probing the case of gold smuggling through diplomatic baggage channel at Thiruvananthapuram Airport, maintained in the special NIA Court that Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) can be charged against the accused in the case, as the gold smuggling they carried out jeopardises the economic stability of the nation.
The Court was considering the bail petition of Swapna Suresh, a key accused in the gold smuggling case on Tuesday.
The NIA sleuths produced the case diary, besides submitting significant evidence against the suspects in a sealed envelope before the Special NIA Court, in Kochi.
The Court had raised doubt on how the case of smuggling gold through the Airport comes under UAPA, rather than tax evasion only. The special NIA court had repeatedly asked if there is any legal standing for charging UAPA against the accused in the case.
Assistant Solicitor General Vijayakumar, who appeared for the NIA, clarified that as per section 15 of the UAPA act, anything which may affect or threaten the economic stability of India comes under the ambit of this law.
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The accused persons have smuggled as much as 200 kilograms of gold in 20 different incidents. This cannot be considered as mere tax evasion, argued NIA. The Solicitor General elaborated that large scale gold smuggling which jeopardises the financial stability of the nation has happened earlier also.
The Defense lawyer argued that the case is politically driven.
However, the Solicitor General stated that the Chief Minister of Kerala had written to the Prime Minister of India seeking a comprehensive investigation in the case of gold smuggling through the diplomatic channel at Thiruvananthapuram Airport. It was based on this request that the Central Government ordered for an NIA investigation in the case, Solicitor General said in the Court.
To hear the detailed arguments of the Defense, the court has deferred considering the bail petition to Thursday.
Meanwhile, the NIA informed that two more persons have been arrested in connection with the gold smuggling case on Tuesday. Shafeeq and Sharaffuddin who helped sell the smuggled gold have now been nabbed by the NIA sleuths.
The Court has granted three more days of NIA custody for Ramees, the fifth accused in the case. Ramees was produced before the NIA court on Tuesday as the allowed custody period of seven days had ended. The NIA team sought a custody extension for Ramees and the Court granted the same for three days.
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