NIA special court, however, rejected bail requests from three main defendants (representation)
Kochi:
A Kochi court on Thursday granted conditional bail to ten defendants arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in connection with the Kerala gold smuggling case.
The NIA Special Court, however, rejected bail requests from three key defendants.
Two other main defendants in the Swapna Suresh and Sarith PS case withdrew their bail requests on Thursday.
Granting the ten defendants bail with strict conditions, the court ordered them to execute a bond for Rs 10 lakh each with two solvent sureties each for the same sum.
They were also ordered to return their passports, not to leave the state without court permission, and not to attempt to contact any of the prosecution witnesses.
Ordering the accused to appear before the investigator as and when required, the court said they would also appear before the post office manager (SHO) of their respective local police station between 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. every Sunday until further notice. .
The NIA on Wednesday opposed the accused’s bail requests, saying there was information regarding the likely use of the smuggled gold for anti-national and terrorist activities. .
Indication of suspicion of underworld gang Don Dawood Ibrahim’s connection to the sensational gold smuggling racketeering, the agency argued that the detention of all defendants in custody for up to 180 days was absolutely necessary to advance the investigation of the case.
Similarly, a special court here on Thursday rejected the bail application of Sandeep Nair, another key defendant, in the money laundering case linked to the smuggling of gold.
The NIA, probing the angle of terror in smuggling gold through diplomatic channels, initially named Sarith, Swapna Suresh and Sandeep Nair and Fazil Fareed as the defendants in the case concerning the seizure of 30 kg of 24 karat gold valued at Rs 14.82 crore at Thiruvananthapuram Airport on July 5th by Customs (Preventive) Commission, Kochi.
During the investigation, the NIA indicted at least 26 other people and arrested many.
Besides the NIA, the Customs and Law Enforcement Directorate is also investigating the case of gold smuggling through diplomatic baggage addressed to the UAE consulate in Thiruvananthapuram since November last year.
(Except for the title, this story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is posted from a syndicated feed.)
