Thiruvananthapuram: The Customs Department has initiated proceedings to invoke COFEPOSA (Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act) against seven other accused, including PS Sarith, besides Swapna Suresh and Sandeep Nair, in the diplomatic baggage gold smuggling case.
The department has sought permission of the COFEPOSA Board to charge the seven under the Act. There are indications that KT Ramees and Rabins K Hameed are also on the list.
A person arrested under the COFEPOSA Act can be sent behind bars for a minimum of one year.
The Customs move is intended to have all the main accused in the case imprisoned for a year by charging them under COFEPOSA.
The accused under COFEPOSA are allowed to be kept in the Poojappura Central Jail in Thiruvananthapuram. They can also be questioned by other agencies.
Earlier, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) had expressed concerns that invoking the Act may prove detrimental to its probe as the accused may be unwilling to cooperate any further.
According to the NIA, the confession of Sandeep is crucial to trap the two main accused in the case, KT Ramees and Swapna Suresh.
New chief for ED in Kerala
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) will soon appoint a new joint director for Kerala. The post has been lying vacant for a long time. The Chennai Joint Director now has the additional responsibility of Kerala. In between, special director Sushil Kumar from Delhi was given the task of supervising the functioning of the Kerala unit.
The Center has decided that a senior officer should be in charge of Kerala to be able to question IAS officers like M Sivasankar.
