ED files third charge sheet in Kerala gold smuggling case
Ramees was arrested by the ED on April 5 and is currently in judicial custody.
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NEW DELHI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed the third charge sheet (second supplementary charge sheet) in the Kerala gold smuggling case, an official said on Monday.
Ramees K.T., the alleged kingpin of the gold smuggling syndicate, was recently arrested by the ED and the charge sheet was filed following his interrogation.
Ramees was arrested by the ED on April 5 and is currently in judicial custody.
The ED initiated a PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act) investigation based on an FIR lodged by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), Kochi, following the seizure of 30.24 kg of smuggled gold by Customs at Trivandrum International Airport. The gold was camouflaged as diplomatic baggage of the UAE Consulate in Thiruvananthapuram.
During the course of his interrogation, Ramees was confronted with over 2,000 voice memos of Telegram chats between him and his associates involved in smuggling.
"Ramees revealed the names of various investors who sponsored the gold smuggling, including persons from Dubai, as well as the names of some beneficiaries. The investigation conducted revealed that 27 accused persons were involved in the offense of money laundering, and they have now been chargesheeted," the official said.
Previously, P.S. Sarith, Sandeep Nair, M. Sivasankar, and Swapna Prabha Suresh were arrested by the ED in the case.
Additionally, two provisional attachment orders for the attachment of various movable properties amounting to Rs 16.80 crore were issued in the case.
The total attachment of properties in the case to date amounts to Rs 21.50 crore, the official said.