Bengaluru: The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) could approach the special court here, seeking permission to question Bineesh Kodiyeri, who has been arrested in a money-laundering case linked to a drug seizure in Karnataka.
Bineesh has been remanded to the Central Prison at Parappana Agrahara till November 25. The NCB is likely to approach the court on November 18, when Bineesh's bail plea regarding the current Enforcement Directorate (ED) case would be considered.
If the NCB too files a case against Bineesh, as per the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS), then the chances of getting bail would be diminished.
Meanwhile, the ED is yet to question suspected benamis of Bineesh - Abdul Latheef, Anikuttan, S Arun and Rasheed, who is the business partner of drug case accused Anoop Mohammad. After recording their statements, the ED could seek Bineesh’s custody again.
Meanwhile, Bineesh would be soon moved from the quarantine cell to normal prison cell as his COVID-19 test turned negative, the jail authorities said.
The ED had arrested Bineesh last month after a dug racket was busted in Bengaluru. Arrest of Anoop Mohammad, Rijesh Raveendran and a few others finally led the sleuths to Bineesh.
Anoop and Rijesh – both close associates of Bineesh - are also at the same Central Prison.
A probe finding that Bineesh had given money to start a hotel, which became the hub of Anoop's drug deals, proved crucial in the case. Bineesh was further cornered as Anoop also deposed that he was just a benami of the former. The ED arrested him over suspected irregularities in the financial transactions with Anoop.
The NCB is yet to ascertain if the money was used for drug deals. Currently, the ED probe is focussing on a few firms owned by Bineesh which the sleuths suspect were being used as a front for money laundering.
