Kerala gold smuggling case: ED arrests KT Ramees, sent to judicial custody

Ernakulam(Kerala) [India], April 7 : The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday arrested the alleged kingpin of the 2020 Kerala gold smuggling scam, KT Ramees. Ramees was earlier arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and was out on bail.

He has been sent to judicial custody.

Earlier the Customs and the NIA arrested Ramees in the same case.

A report, filed by the NIA in the Special NIA Court in Kochi, said Ramees was the kingpin of the Gold Smuggling case.

The case trigered political controversy in Kerala that put the Kerala Left government on the defensive. The case is being investigated by multiple central investigation agencies including NIA and the enforcement directorate.

The case pertains to the seizure of 30 kilograms of gold worth Rs 14.82 crore at Thiruvananthapuram Airport on July 5, 2020. The gold was found in a diplomatic bag that was meant to be delivered to the UAE consulate in Thiruvananthapuram.

The controversy has seen the suspension of M Sivasankar from the post of principal secretary to Kerala CM Pinarai Vijayan. He was suspended after a preliminary inquiry confirmed that he had links with Swapna Suresh one of the main accused in the case.

Ramees is an history sheeter. Ramees was convicted in 2014 in a case of smuggling 3.5 kg of gold through Thiruvananthapuram airport. He is also accused in the 2015 case of smuggling 17 kg of gold through Calicut airport. He has also many wildlife act violation cases.