Kerala gold smuggling case suspect M Sivasankar interrogated by ED

M Sivasankar, the former Principal Secretary at the Kerala CMO was interrogated on Saturday regarding the gold smuggling case. He arrived in Kochi on Saturday and was questioned by the Enforcement Directorate.

They questioned him on this case as well as probed based on the money laundering case that was suspected to be happening through diplomatic channels. He was questioned for more than 5 hrs. There was already an earlier investigation conducted at his residence in Thiruvananthapuram. These interrogations are following the revelations of Swapna closeness with Sivasankar, as well as the reports released based on the fact that he was completely aware of her dubious identity.

Notably, the three primary suspects of this case, Swapna Suresh, Sandeep Nair, and Sarith PS were sent to the custody of the Enforcement Directorate on Friday and are to remain in their custody till August 17th.

The Kerala gold smuggling case dealt with smuggling of gold into the state through diplomatic channels. This came to light after 30 kilograms gold worth of ₹14.82 crores were smuggled through a consignment camouflaged as diplomatic baggage. Following this, a series of investigations were launched to crack down the kingpins in this case. Swapna Suresh, one of the main kingpins was cracked down by the Kerala Police on July11, following the arrests of her accomplices Sarith, Sandeep Nair, and Fazil. Swapna, Sandeep, Sarith and Fazil Fareed are the four main accused in the gold smuggling case that has rattled Kerala.