Thiruvananthapuram: Suspended bureaucrat M Sivasankar and he attended ‘friendly meetings’ four times at Swapna Suresh's flat, Sandeep Nair, a prime accused in the gold smuggling case, has said in his statement to the investigating officials.
Once he even dropped Sivasankar at his home in Heather flat near the state secretariat at night, Sandeep said.
Swapna is the second accused in the case.
P S Sarith Kumar, a former PRO of the UAE Consulate in Thiruvananthapuram and the first accused in the case, was also present on all the four occasions, Sandeep said.
It is learnt that during questioning, Sivasankar had told customs officials that Sandeep was only an acquaintance and that he did not have any friendly relationship with him.
Sivasankar’s defence will become vulnerable if it is established that he shared close ties with Sandeep, who has been a part of the gold smuggling racket for years.
Sivasankar was suspended after he was removed as the chief minister’s principal secretary and IT department secretary for his alleged links with members of the smuggling gang.
The investigations so far of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and the Customs Department indicate that Sandeep was the mastermind of the smuggling racket.
Operations controlled by Swapna
Sandeep, however, told the officials that Swapna controlled the gold smuggling that was done through the diplomatic channel. His only role in the operation was to take the gold to K T Ramees, a native of Malappuram, who is in the custody of the Customs department.
Only Swapna knew how the gold was being sent from Dubai, he said. For the others in the operation, Swapna was their ‘madam’, he told officials.
Swapna took the biggest share
Swapna collected the biggest share of the spoils after each successful smuggling mission through using the diplomatic route, saying she had to share with a top official at the UAE Consulate, Sandeep Nair has told officials in his statement.
He said he does not know to whom K T Ramees distributed the smuggled gold and that he only collected commission for smuggling gold.
According to Sandeep’s statement, Swapna had smuggled gold through the diplomatic baggage earlier, too, before he got acquainted to her.
He said he has known Sarith since the days they used to work together in an establishment in Thiruvananthapuram. Sarith introduced him to Swapna when he started working at the UAE Consulate, Sandeep said.
He joined the racket after he was told that there is no risk in smuggling gold through the diplomatic parcel route, he said.
Sandeep said Swapna and Sivasankar shared close ties. She strengthened her relationship with him to misuse his position and power, Sandeep told the investigators.
Sources said that Swapna spends most time crying during interrogations and that she has not divulged much information.
The Customs Department has learnt that a professional gang, and not a single person, in Dubai was behind the diplomatic baggage smuggling racket and that Ramees was the main Kerala link.
Gunman collected consignment
Meanwhile, the Customs Department said they have obtained crucial information about the smuggling activities from the interrogation of S R Jayaghosh, the former gunman of the UAE Consulate General who allegedly attempted suicide fearing threat from the gang.
It is learnt that Jayaghosh told the investigators that he collected baggage from the airport cargo as per Swapna’s instructions and then handed them over to her.
He collected the baggage six months ago, too. Jayaghosh told officials that he was asked to go to the cargo complex when Sarith was not available, sources said.
He said he was shocked when he learnt that the baggage he had collected contained smuggled gold.
He used to work at the immigration department of the airport and he had used his contacts there for the benefit of the gang, he said in his statement.
Jayaghosh was found with cuts on his wrists on July 17. He had told investigators that he had attempted suicide fearing the gang would harm him in the belief that he had let out information about its activities. His wife had filed a police complaint saying he was missing after he received a threatening phone call late in the evening on July 16.
Jayaghosh said he hid in a forest near his home all through the night after the phone call and that he attempted suicide the next day. Officials, however, do not believe this. They suspect he staged it to cover up his involvement with the gang.
