Kerala gold smuggling: Nothing to substantiate terror funding, says NIA court

Kochi: In the Kerala gold smuggling case, the National Investigation Agency special court has submitted that there is nothing in the case diary submitted by the NIA to show that the money spent by the accused was coming from any “terror outfits” or even their connection whatsoever with any “terrorist forces”.

The court made the marks while granting bail to 10 accused persons in the case. It also dismissed the bail petitions of three accused on Thursday.

The NIA court stated that “it is repeatedly alleged in the counter statement submitted by NIA that the petitioners have acted with an intention to damage the economic security of India, there is no material whatsoever in the case diary to prima facie satisfy that they did it with such an intention.”

“There is nothing in the case diary to show that the money spent by them was coming from any terror outfits or that they received the gold for transferring it to any such dark forces or even their connection whatsoever with any terrorist forces,” the court added.

It further said that unless the NIA produces sufficient materials to compel this court to keep all the petitioners under detention in order to unravel the money/gold trail leading to terror outfits, this court cannot detain all of them indefinitely.

This development follows after the NIA had produced the case diary of six volumes consisting of nearly 2,500 pages in the Kerala gold smuggling case.

It has also produced a letter issued by the Additional Director General of the Central Economic Intelligence Bureau which read there was sufficient reason for registering the FIR, suspecting terror funding out of the proceeds of the smuggled gold, and continuing the investigation in that direction.

However, after investigating for a period of more than 90 days, the agency is not able to trace any material to substantiate the said suspicion.

The Kerala gold smuggling case, which is being probed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), the Enforcement Directorate and the Customs department, pertains to the smuggling of gold in the state through diplomatic channels.

The matter had come to light after 30 kg gold worth was smuggled in a consignment camouflaged as diplomatic baggage was busted by the Customs in Thiruvananthapuram on July 5.