Kochi: Tainted bureaucrat M Sivasankar is unlikely to go unscathed over the gold smuggling case being probed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

Though the first accused in the case, P S Sarith, has stated Sivasankar was not part of the racket, he conceded that talks on smuggling gold were held at the IAS official's flat in Thiruvananthapuram. But Sivasankar did not participate in these talks nor was he aware about the gold smuggling, Sarith claimed.

Parties were also held at this flat, according to Sarith's statement.

The Customs Preventive wing would question Sivasankar as he is the owner of the flat where the smuggling conspiracy was allegedly hatched.

After it was alleged that Sivasankar had close ties with Swapna Suresh, the second accused in the case, he was removed as the IT Secretary and Secretary to the Kerala Chief Minister last week.

Sarith further said that he got acquainted with Sivasankar through Swapna. Swapna and he received Rs 10 lakh for each assignment, he added.

He also told the probe officers that he had splurged this money at luxury hotels and had financial problems.

Investigators suspect that Swapna's husband also had a flat in the building where Sivasankar was staying. They are trying to ascertain if the flat was on rent by late June.

Sandeep main link?

Sarith also revealed that Sandeep Nair, who was recently arrested from Bengaluru along with Swapna, was the main link of the racket in Kerala.

Sarith also said that Sandeep had been in contact with several dealers including K T Ramees, who was recently arrested by the Customs. He further said that he did not know the names of these people but could identify them.

Sarith in his statement also said that he got acquainted with Faisal Fareed, third accused in the case who is yet to be arrested, via Sandeep.

Airport scanners missed wrapped gold?

The Customs had seized 30 kg gold, worth Rs 13.5 crore, from a diplomatic baggage addressed to the UAE Consulate in Thiruvananthapuram on July 5.

The NIA stated that the accused had found a way to get past the scanners placed at the Trivandrum International Airport.They had a thorough understanding of the technical aspects of the scanner. They covered the parcels containing gold in such a way that they would go undetected. The central agency has communicated this to the court.

The NIA will seek the help of technical experts to probe this further.