Gold smuggling case: M Sivasankar questioned for 9 hrs

M Sivasankar, former principal secretary to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on midnight of July 14 left Customs Department’s office in Thiruvananthapuram after being questioned. He had been questioned for about nine hours as part of probe into Kerala gold smuggling case by NIA and Customs. Phone call records of Swapna Suresh and Sarith PS, accused in the high profile Kerala gold smuggling case have revealed that they had conversations with M Sivasankar multiple times. This development comes days after 30 kg of gold worth Rs 14.82 crore smuggled in consignment camouflaged as diplomatic baggage was busted by Customs in Thiruvananthapuram. The NIA has registered an FIR under Sections 16, 17 and 18 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, against four accused persons, of which three have been arrested.