Kochi: Two more people have been arrested by the Customs in connection with the gold smuggling case at Thiruvananthapuram airport in Kerala.
Muhammad Anwar TM and Saidalavi E from Malappuram were arrested on Thursday.
Earlier, Sarith P S, a former PRO at the UAE’s consulate, Swapna Santosh, a former executive secretary at the Consulate, and their friend Sandeep Nair, were arrested in connection with the case.
According to the Customs officials, the accused had delivered gold to the traders.
The Customs sleuths had earlier conducted a day-long inspection at the apartment of Swapna Suresh, at Ambalamukku. Meanwhile, Sarith, the first accused in the case, has confessed to having smuggled gold ten times.
The case gained national attention after the opposition in the state alleged the involvement of the Chief Minister's Office, as one of the accused reportedly had connections with the Principal Secretary to CMO who was removed from the post.
The Kerala unit of Congress on Wednesday said that it will move a no-confidence motion against the Pinarayi Vijayan government and the Kerala Assembly speaker over their alleged involvement in the gold smuggling case.
Speaking to media reporters here, Kerala opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala alleged that the Chief Minister is defending his (former) principal secretary, which shows that his office is involved in the gold smuggling case.
The NIA has registered an FIR under Sections 16, 17 and 18 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, against four accused persons.
READ: Kerala Gold Smuggling Case: Ex-official M Sivasankar questioned in customs office for over 9 hours
